The title of Bung Hatta’s speech delivered at the first alumni celebration of the University of Indonesia in 1957 remains relevant to this day.

“And the responsibility of an academic is intellectual and moral! This is inherent in the very nature of knowledge, whose essence is to seek truth and defend truth” (Mohammad Hatta, 1957).

Bung Hatta reminded that university alumni, as part of the intelligentsia, bear a significant responsibility: to develop knowledge while actively engaging in realizing social welfare and justice.

For Bung Hatta, knowledge does not stop at mastering information; it must result in moral alignment.

In his speech, Bung Hatta expressed anxiety about Indonesia’s future if national leadership is not supported by an adequate educational background.

He believed that higher education not only equips technical abilities but also shapes moral character, ethics, and integrity—values greatly needed by a community leader.

Bung Hatta also launched sharp criticism at the intelligentsia who chose to remain silent, enjoying the privileges of education but being reluctant to take concrete action to improve the nation’s condition.

That speech represents Bung Hatta’s great hope for universities as institutions that produce capable, integral, and responsible future national leaders.

History shows that the role of higher education is indeed very determining in a country’s development.

South Korea is often cited as an example of how a country systematically encourages universities to produce graduates skilled in line with key national sectors.

When Korea aspired to rival Japan, universities were directed to produce high-quality engineers, technicians, researchers, and digital scientists ready to enter the industrial world.

The role of Korean universities in supporting industrial advancement is evident through close collaboration with large companies like Samsung, Hyundai, and LG.

Universities became centers of research and development, as well as incubators for technological innovation.

Institutions like KAIST and POSTECH are widely known as producers of excellent researchers and engineers who contribute directly to the national industry.

The Korean government also consistently provides research funding and scholarships to encourage the development of strategic technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital technology.

This ecosystem is strengthened through internship programs and university-industry research cooperation, ensuring graduates are truly prepared to face global challenges.

The question is, what about Indonesia? The government certainly hopes universities can become the backbone of national development.

However, that hope must be translated into concrete policies and programs so the innovation ecosystem truly grows and functions.

History and Evolution of Higher Education

Higher education institutions are an important pillar in the history of human civilization.

Initially, higher education did not exist in the form of formal universities as it does today.

It began with informal discussion forums that served as meeting spaces for thinkers and knowledge seekers.

In Ancient Greece, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle dialogued in the agora and city gardens, discussing ethics, logic, and politics.

In the Islamic world, scholarly assemblies (majelis ilmu) and consultation traditions (musyawarah) became important means for exchanging ideas and shaping intellectual character.

As societal needs for systematic mastery of knowledge increased, these informal forums transformed into formal educational institutions.

Al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco and Al-Azhar in Egypt became early examples of Islamic world universities that started from religious education and later opened up to various disciplines.

In the West, universities like Oxford and Harvard also grew from religious institutions before developing into multidisciplinary centers of knowledge.

In the modern era, universities are no longer merely teaching institutions but also centers of research and innovation.

Industrial demands for new technology drive universities to become strategic partners of the business world.

Silicon Valley is a tangible example of the successful collaboration between Stanford University and technology companies, giving birth to a global innovation ecosystem.

In a postcolonial context, universities in developing countries were built to produce development experts while safeguarding national identity.

However, globalization and international ranking standards also encourage the commercialization of higher education, so universities are often treated as an education service industry.

Indonesia has a very large number of higher education institutions, the second most in the world after India.

With a large population, the role of Indonesian higher education becomes very strategic, both in human resource development and the internalization of national values.

The University of Indonesia, rooted in STOVIA (1849), and the Islamic University of Indonesia (1949) are important milestones in the history of national higher education.

Intelligentsia: Traditional and Organic

At universities, students are not only taught to master knowledge but are also trained to think independently, ask critical questions, and solve problems through accountable scientific methods.

This academic process forms analytical abilities greatly needed in the business world, government bureaucracy, and broader public life.

However, higher education does not stop at technical proficiency. It contains an ethical mandate: the educated bear the moral responsibility to side with the values of truth, justice, and humanity.

Bung Hatta’s worry about the emergence of leaders without a strong educational foundation can be understood through Antonio Gramsci’s thoughts on the intelligentsia.

Gramsci distinguished between traditional intelligentsia and organic intelligentsia.

Traditional intelligentsia is a group of intellectuals whose existence is considered “neutral” and established—academics, professionals, or religious figures who tend to preserve old knowledge and values and are often distant from changing social dynamics.

They function as guardians of continuity but are not always involved in social transformation.

Conversely, organic intelligentsia emerges from changes in social and economic structures.

They grow alongside the concrete problems of their society and play an active role as a bridge between knowledge and social reality.

Organic intelligentsia not only produces ideas but is also involved in the process of building collective consciousness, articulating public interests, and driving change towards social justice.

In this perspective, intellectuals are not enough to merely be guardians of the ivory tower of knowledge.

They are required to be present as agents of change who are sensitive to social suffering, dare to speak out, and are willing to take moral risks.

This is where the essence of the intelligentsia’s responsibility lies: to make knowledge not merely an analytical tool, but an ethical force to defend truth and fight for humanity.

Towards Impactful Higher Education

Currently, Indonesia demands that universities go beyond their traditional role as teaching institutions and truly deliver tangible impact for society.

That challenge is not small. The ratio of higher education graduates in Indonesia is still around 10 percent of the total population.

This figure shows that access to higher education is still limited, while also being a strong signal that the quality and relevance of higher education must continue to be strengthened to answer the nation’s increasingly complex needs.

Universities are also required to prepare excellent talent for the business world and government.

Amid increasingly fierce regional competition, ASEAN countries are moving quickly to align curricula with the needs of industry, technology, and modern bureaucracy.

If Indonesian universities are not swift to respond, the gap in human resource quality will widen further.

Moreover, universities are expected to become centers for the birth of innovative research relevant to society’s real problems, not merely fulfilling administrative obligations or chasing publications.

For this, a strong research ecosystem is a primary prerequisite.

This ecosystem requires the presence of quality researchers, adequate infrastructure, sustainable funding, and mechanisms that allow research results to be utilized by society and the business world.

Without this chain, research risks stopping as neat academic reports on paper, devoid of social impact.

Bung Hatta’s message remains relevant: higher education must shape scientists who are honest, disciplined, and possess integrity.

Analytical errors are part of the scientific process, but data manipulation is a betrayal of knowledge.

Higher education should ideally become a center of research and innovation, the brain as well as the heart of the nation, contributing tangibly to national progress.

The question is, are our universities ready to become engines of change, or are they comfortable remaining spectators amid the strong currents of the demands of the times?

*) Rector, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia

This article was previously published here: https://ruangberitanusantara.com/20260117/opini-tanggung-jawab-moral-kaum-inteligensia/