Institut Teknologi Bandung

Leadership Night 2022 was opened with a speech from the Acting Director of the Jakarta Campus, Dr. Yos Sunitiyoso. He stated that SBM ITB opened the broadest opportunity to all parties, including the academic community, industrial partners, and the government, to continue collaborating with SBM ITB through its spirit of "flying together."

In line with the statement above, ITB's Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Prof. Jaka Sembiring, also the Acting Dean of SBM ITB, highlighted SBM ITB's capacity to collaborate with external and internal parties across disciplines. According to the Vice Rector, this role was paramount for SBM ITB to be able to serve society and assist ITB in its mission to prosper the nation and its people.

Prof. Jaka also expressed his delight to Kang Emil, an ITB alumnus. ITB's motto of In Harmonia Progressio had manifested in Ridwan Kamil along with his journey to lead West Java.

As a prominent architect and once a lecturer in his alma mater, Ridwan Kamil clearly conveyed the nuances of harmony in governing Bandung and West Java. Representing ITB, Prof. Jaka hoped that there would be more alumni like Ridwan Kamil who could lead the nation to a better future.

Leadership Values in Ridwan Kamil's Perspective

In the public lecture titled "In Harmonia Progressio: Dari Ganesha Bangun Jabar Juara," Kang Emil shared his perspective on leadership values. During his nine-year career, from being an architect to becoming the number-one person in Bandung and then West Java, he succeeded in winning 880 different awards. Three fundamental values had always guided Kang Emil throughout his journey: Leadership for Devotion, Power is Only Temporary, and Commitment to Benefit the People.

According to him, a leader must be able to evaluate their leadership's impact correctly. There were two crucial merits implemented by Kang Emil: personality and reliability. The first merit, personality, is significant since a leader is judged more by emotional factors. This personality can be assessed through the leader’s gestures and appearance and how the public receives them.

“Nowadays, being smart is not enough to be a successful leader. You need to be close to your people, listen and respond to their admiration,” said Kang Emil while adapting his approach to get closer to the people of West Java.

On the other hand, the second merit, reliability, is equally important. It measures the quality of the decision made by the leader and how much power they have over society.

Kang Emil then shared some of his success in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. By implementing adaptive thinking and optimism, he transformed West Java and initiated a digital revolution across the region. These changes were apparent in numerous areas, such as smart cities and digital villages. Furthermore, with the introduction of e-Fishery, Fish Finder, Drip Irrigation, and Drone-Sprayed Pesticides, several applications were launched to boost productivity in various industries, namely fishery and agriculture. A program called "Petani Millenial" was also initiated to reinvigorate the agricultural industry among the young generation.

At the end of his lecture, Kang Emil invited ITB alumni, who are primarily technocrats, to participate as regional leaders in Indonesia. This was because only about 1% of around 500 mayors, regents, and governors across the nation originated from the Ganesha Campus.

Moreover, Kang Emil underlined Indonesia's massive potential for future development, particularly in renewable energy. However, there was also the danger of global warming and other issues lurking around. These issues must be addressed first, such as through green energy, which was already implemented using electric vehicles. Finally, Kang Emil hoped that ITB's In Harmonia Progressio could enrich the leadership in Indonesia.

The Leadership Night event is an annual program organized by SBM ITB Jakarta Campus to provide room for discussion between notable figures and leaders to address national issues. Since the last few years, Leadership Night has been inviting prominent individuals such as Kuntoro Mangkusubroto (2010), Jusuf Kalla (2011), Dahlan Iskan (2012), Gita Wirjawan (2013), Anies Baswedan (2014), Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (2015), Sri Mulyani (2016), Boediono (2017), Ignasius Jonan (2018), Susi Pudjiastuti (2019), Nadiem Makarim (2020), and Budi Gunadi Sadikin (2021).

At this event, awards are also given to the best students, lecturers, alumni, and employees. These awards are granted as a token of appreciation for their utmost dedication to SBM ITB.

Translator: Ariq Ramadhan Teruna (Chemical Engineering '21)