In Conversation: Professor Dwia Tina Pulubuhu welcomes PAIR
Prof. Dr Dwia Aries Tina Pulubuhu, Rector of Universitas Hasanuddin, believes that the Partnership for Australia-Indonesia Research (PAIR) will encourage new innovative forms of knowledge production, which will help participating universities to embed problem solving skills in their various education pathways.
Prof. Dwia is a sociologist who studied at UnHas, Universitas Airlangga and Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. Her areas of study include women living in poverty, and multiculturalism, and she has more recently conducted performance evaluations of regional development projects for Bappenas. Below is our new video interview with her, followed by a full transcript.
Prof. Dwia: UnHas, or Hasanuddin University, which is the largest tertiary institution in eastern Indonesia, has always been involved by the government in designing development programs. Starting from the initial planning, to the development program itself. Then evaluate its usefulness.
So being involved in analyzing development programs for the community and the region, it is used. So with the existence of this PAIR program, we feel more happy because the aim of PAIR is clearly an interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary research program.
Interviewer: What is the Partnership for Australia-Indonesia Research (PAIR)?
Prof. Dwia: So it involves various parties. Moreover, the focus of its location in South Sulawesi. Development, construction of transportation infrastructure for South Sulawesi, so that people are often involved, social people are involved, and economic aspects are also involved which in principle the results of this research are to be oriented to whether the benefits of development so far, related to infrastructure development, transportation facilities mainly trains in South Sulawesi.
This is trying to evaluate how infrastructure development has an effect on society, on humans. Economic effects, effects are also in the pattern of mobility, and certainly also in the pattern of interaction, and ultimately the overall benefits for regional development in South Sulawesi and support for Indonesia’s development. I think PAIR is a very strategic program. If it can be duplicated for programs in other regions.
Interviewer: What is the link between research and policy?
Prof. Dwia: Development programs should be research-based, especially if we want to be knowledge-oriented, so that from the start the program was designed right on target. Then its usefulness can also be evaluated, how far has the development been utilised so far that we can know, if based on research, which is actually the priority?
From the moment the program runs, if there is a need to be evaluated or there needs to be standardization, then there must be a measure. Measures must be research based too, which cannot be estimated. If there are public expectations as to what, it must also be based on research. Not just hopes or discourse, for example.
So that in the end its usefulness must also be measured. The size is concrete, so that it can be concrete only that can be through a research base, so that finally these development programs are truly real programs, in accordance with the needs of the community, then their benefits are indeed appropriate for those needed by the community and the state.
Interviewer: How will UnHas benefit from PAIR?
Prof. Dwia: I think studies like the PAIR program will be able to be material to enrich teaching, teaching material models. Besides that, it will also be a place for new perspectives to be born which can finally be published internationally, finally raising the competitiveness of the UNHAS tertiary institution itself, the alumni produced, a lot of benefits.
From the science itself, this will lead to many findings, innovations right. So this kind of infrastructure will give birth to new ideas for the development of other innovations. So in terms of science, it really is indeed the scope of higher education.
So from the development of science, so prepare our human resources who really discuss something that is oriented to solving problems. Then for researchers, it will lead to new perspectives, analyses.
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