BANDUNG, unpas.ac.id – Since the pandemic broke out worldwide, learning process in the university is carried out in online method. This condition gives significant differences to the learning process which affects to the efficiency of time and cost. However, the knowledge transfer from teacher to student can still be carried out. Today, attending class only needs a gadget; student can only sit and pay attention to the teacher’ presentation distantly.
First Principle Thinking
There is one of thinking concepts found by Aristotle, namely first principle thinking: thinking about something to the most basic think thoroughly which cannot be reduced again.
Recently, first principle thinking is mostly adopted by world’s motivators such Elon Musk, through the manufacture of electric cars with the use of low-cost batteries. Airbnb also innovates to provide a comfortable stay without the need for a luxury hotel building, or Gojek, which has the principle that transportation doesn’t need a lot of vehicles.
If first principle thinking can work in the industrial world, then is it possible to apply it in the education?
Basically, the principle of education is to convey knowledge, skills, and character. Referring to first principle thinking, will there still be a need for buildings and professional teachers in the future?
In the post-pandemic, the world of education has undergone rapid changes and has been accelerated by technology. Learning is done virtually without the need for a building or classroom.
On the other hand, the implementation of higher education with a conventional system certainly requires no small amount of money. It includes building maintenance, classes, electricity, cleaning staff, administration, as well as salaries of teachers and staffs.
The Central Statistics Agency (Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS) even estimates that the cost of education will increase from year to year, assuming an increase in inflation of around 10-20 percent.
Disruption in Education Field
In line with this prediction, teacher of Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) Universitas Pasundan Budi Septiawan, SE., M.Ak., MBA stated that online learning will be the future’s alternative because it is considered more cost-efficient.
“Speaking of online education system, there are many of us who have already known about Ruangguru platform, one of pioneers in education field which has successfully disrupted learning tutor activity. In the past, students had to come directly to the tutoring location, but now it can be done anytime and anywhere flexibly,” he explained.
Apart from that, Ruanggure keeps making innovation to create other products, such as Ruangkerja and Skill Academy as facilities to improve both hard skill and soft skill for all kind of groups of people.
There are also Coursera platform providing complete education access, including certification, training, as well as online degrees. These innovations make Coursera the orchestrator for learners around the world and well-known education institution.
“This shows us that education is the right of every individual. It should no longer be limited by space and time. High-cost education based on classrooms and buildings (brick and mortar) can be cheaper by using online learning,” he said.
If we take a look at the business model of Gojek and several start-up companies, they take advantage of opportunities from many aspects that are not optimal. With the proliferation of universities in Indonesia, Budi hopes, can this condition be used as an opportunity the same way like the steps of start-up companies?
In the United States, universities began to experience a decline in student admissions by 8 percent from the 2019-2021 range. Australian universities have also lost revenue due to the absence of foreign students due to the impact of Covid-19 which has spread to industry.
In 2014, a disruption expert from Harvard University, Prof. Clayton Christensen also once mentioned, in the next 10 to 15 years, 50 percent of the 4,000 universities in the United States will experience bankruptcy.
“If so, the conventional campus business model with high costs in providing education will not be able to be covered from student admissions income,” he continued.
Reflecting on First Principle Thinking
The education’s first principle thinking which is truly as process of transferring understanding, knowledge, skills and character can actually be carried out online.
Although most people may not agree on this, in fact, consumer in other industry also prefer online-based transportation (lit. ojek: drivers working with their bike used for picking up people, based on order in the online application) to conventional-based transportation. It is due to people’s change of behaviour which is closer to the digital one.
The variables, such as number of universities and teacher, tuition fees which is increasing, start-up companies in education field, expert’s prediction and the newest one, virtual world: metaverse, will accelerate educational disruption, both in Indonesian and globally.
All of them are certainly prediction still and need further research to validate these variables mentioned before.
“But, it is interesting and worth waiting for; will the current start–up companies be included to the higher education level? Or, will there be a new platform which will become a place for university, or even will the colleges themselves keep changing and transforming? Or is metaverse coming sooner to provide virtual education services?” he concluded. (Reta)*
