APAN52

Universitas Islam Indonesia Hosted the 52nd Asia-Pacific Advanced Network Virtual Meeting

Universitas Islam Indonesia hosted the 52nd Asia-Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) Meeting. APAN itself is an organization that connects various research and higher education institutions through a private high-speed fiber-optic network in the Asia Pacific region. APAN connects institutions through networks, and on top of it enables research collaboration, knowledge sharing, telemedicine, and natural disaster mitigation run on the high-speed network infrastructure.

"As the Chinese proverb says, it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness," Prof. Fathul Wahid, S.T, M.Sc., Ph.D. in his remarks at the opening session, Monday afternoon, 2 August 2021, citing the pandemic situation that forced the meeting to be held virtually. It is undeniable that advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have opened many opportunities for working from home, e-learning, the rise of e-commerce platforms, and other various things.

Prof. Fathul put forward several perspectives on ICT in his presentation. First, ICT is like a life savior, especially during a pandemic that emphasizes that effectiveness is more important than perfection. Second, ICT is a game-changer that accelerates the adoption of digital technology in industry 4.0. Covid-19 is not only a disaster but also a blessing for those who can take advantage of ICT.

Third, continued Prof. Fathul, ICT has proven to open access to a broader audience on internet services and valuable content. Prof. Fathul hopes that no one is left behind in the development of information technology and hopes that this event will be personally helpful, academically insightful, and professionally relevant.

Prof. Jilong Wang, as the Chairman of APAN, welcomed the presence of academics and participants who took part in the virtual opening of the 52nd Asia-Pacific Advanced Network. He said that the development of digital technology that presents a digital society is beneficial in carrying out educational and research collaborations.

Mukhammad Andri Setiawan, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D. (the local organizing committee chair) said that despite being forced to hold the event online due to the global pandemic, the online event gives opportunities for many new people to know more about APAN. APAN52 attracted more than a thousand participants from various countries in the Asia Pacific region, America, Europe, and Africa. This number surpassed many of APAN's previous events. He also hoped that all participants, especially new faces, would learn, participate and contribute more to any discussion in any working group of their interest.

The General Director of Higher Education Indonesia, Prof. Nizam, while officially opening the 52nd APAN virtual meeting, said that "In times of vulnerability, uncertainty, and complex problems like today, it is essential for us to work together to solve problems to save the earth and humanity. We hope that we can strengthen cooperation in the Asia Pacific region because collaboration is the key to mutual benefit and achieving a better future for sustainable development for all of us."

TEIN*CC executive officer and Asia Connect Project Manager Louis Hyunho Choi agreed that in the situation where Covid-19 has not receded yet, we must continue to find solutions together. As one of the sponsors, Asia Connect will continue to support its partners in supporting education.

Prof. Ari Fahrial Syam, as the keynote speaker from Universitas Indonesia, encourages the innovation's breakthrough to ensure the successful fight in the face of more than a year and a half of Covid-19. Academics, government, business, media, and communities must collaborate to win the fight. He quoted from John F. Kennedy, "A crisis consists of two characters – one representing danger and the other representing opportunity." Prof. Ari described several achievements of the Telemedicine Applications to fight the pandemic. One of the applications made by students in Indonesia has helped many people in Indonesia. This application contains information about Covid-19, such as Covid-19 statistics, how to protect ourselves, hospital referrals, donation info, and the latest news about corona. There is also an application named Temenin (Telemedicine Indonesia) from the Indonesian Ministry of Health for health workers and experts.

However, there are still issues that must be addressed, including limited internet infrastructure, limited engagement, potential security breaches, and lack of integration with another environment. Therefore, Prof. Ari hopes that experts from medicine, IT, economics, and other essential sectors will collaborate to solve ongoing problems.

In the opening, Dr. dr. Aria Kekalih, M.IT., the representative of the telemedicine working group who is also a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, said that the unique and diverse conditions of the islands in Indonesia created its challenges in terms of managing internet connections evenly. The internet access, especially in the suburbs, is not that good. Many connections are less than 5 Mbps and worse in rural areas with only 0.5 Mbps up to 2 Mbps.

Dr. Aria concluded the 52nd APAN opening ceremony by emphasizing that we need to improve access for support systems staff and engineers because they are an essential component of medical education and services. "Keep up our energy, be optimistic and creative. As mentioned by Prof. Ari before, there is always an opportunity behind any crisis."