The 10th and 12th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla (JK), has encouraged universities in Indonesia to continuously keep up with and accelerate their mastery of technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), which is rapidly developing and considered to be an essential part of future life.
JK made this statement after conducting a visit tour to Huawei Shenzhen Headquarters (HQ) and Huawei Dongguan Campus, China, on Monday (21/9/2026). During the visit, JK and his group of academics held discussions with Huawei’s leadership and staff regarding developments in information technology, AI, and opportunities for collaboration with Indonesian universities.
“Today we visited Huawei and discussed with its leadership or directors and some staff about the achievements reached and also the potential of technology in this world, which is developing so quickly, including advances in AI that have already become a basic necessity in future life,” said JK.
According to JK, this visit provided an opportunity for university leaders and engineering faculty deans to directly observe technological developments and use them as learning material to enhance the capabilities of universities in Indonesia.
JK said that one of the topics discussed was the opportunity for collaboration between Hasanuddin University (Unhas) and Huawei, particularly in the field of research and technological development.
“The engineering faculty deans and also university leaders at Unhas and all others have learned about and listened to these advancements, and this becomes a learning process for us to also participate and talk about collaboration between Unhas and Huawei in research and technological progress as well,” he said.
JK hopes that plans for this collaboration can be followed up soon. According to him, discussions about the partnership have already taken place, but implementation still needs to be strengthened.
“Next, it will be discussed further and indeed there are already collaboration plans, although they are not yet active. Hopefully, we can carry this out well,” JK said.
Meanwhile, the Vice Rector for Partnership, Internationalization, and Alumni Affairs at Hasanuddin University, Prof. Ir. Suharman Hamzah, S.T., M.T., Ph.D.(Eng.), HSE., said the visit to Huawei offered direct insight into the rapid pace of technological transformation, from mechanization and digital transformation to artificial intelligence.
According to Suharman, these developments present both challenges and opportunities for universities in Indonesia to adapt.
“Universities, whether they want to or not, must adapt to technological developments, especially AI,” Suharman said.
He explained that seven universities participating in the visit had the opportunity to see firsthand the technological development being carried out by Huawei, including its research and development activities.
Suharman believes this experience further strengthens the awareness of Indonesian universities about the importance of accelerating technology so as not to be left behind by developments occurring in other countries.
“If we do not accelerate our technological progress, it will certainly have a significant impact on students,” he said.
According to him, universities should not avoid the use of AI. On the contrary, this technology should be optimally utilized while being equipped with usage guidelines and ethics.
“With AI’s presence, we must make good use of it, it’s not prohibited to use, but it must have guidelines, must have ethics, and so on,” he explained.
Suharman added that Unhas institutionally has prepared itself to develop the AI field, among others through the development of study programs and work units that specifically focus on artificial intelligence.
He hopes the communication that has been established with Huawei Indonesia can soon be enhanced into a more concrete collaboration, including for technological development at campuses in Makassar, especially Hasanuddin University.
“With the discussion earlier, I think we will soon follow up and hopefully it will be developed into more implementable collaboration at campuses in Makassar, especially at Unhas,” Suharman said.
He stated that the results of discussions during the visit will soon be followed up after the group returns to Indonesia, so that collaboration opportunities in research, education, and AI technology development can be realized more concretely.