FISH UNJ Holds Employer Meeting 2026 to Strengthen Collaboration Between Academia and Industry in Preparing Adaptive Graduates for the Digital Era

Jakarta, January 27, 2026 — The Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, Universitas Negeri Jakarta (FISH UNJ), held the Employer Meeting 2026 under the theme “Bridging the Gap: Synergy Between Academics and Practitioners in Producing Adaptive FISH Graduates in the Digital Era.” The event took place at the 8th Floor of the Syafei Building, UNJ Campus, and served as a strategic forum to connect the academic community with industry partners in aligning higher education curricula with real-world workforce demands.

The Employer Meeting was designed as part of Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Hukum (FISH) Universitas Negeri Jakarta (UNJ)’s efforts to strengthen the link and match policy between higher education institutions and graduate users. The event was attended by the Dean of FISH UNJ, Vice Deans, the Director of Innovation of UNJ, Heads of Study Programs, lecturers, as well as representatives from industry partners, government institutions, and educational organizations that employ FISH UNJ graduates. 

The Chair of the Organizing Committee, Firdaus Hadi Santosa, M.Pd., emphasized that the forum functioned as both a reflective space and a platform for collecting strategic feedback for the faculty. He highlighted that the outcomes of the discussions were crucial to ensuring that graduates possess not only strong academic competencies, but also adaptive, professional, and practical skills needed to contribute effectively in the digital era.

In line with this view, the Dean of FISH UNJ, Firdaus Wajdi, M.A., Ph.D., stressed the importance of directly listening to the voices of graduate users. In his opening remarks, he reflected that curriculum development in higher education has often been overly focused on academic perspectives and benchmarking with leading universities, while overlooking direct input from employers who ultimately assess graduates’ real-world competencies.

“Higher education institutions need to reflect on the fact that curriculum development has often been too textbook-oriented, relying mainly on academic studies and inter-university benchmarking. At times, we forget to listen directly to graduate users, even though they are the ones who truly understand and evaluate the real competencies of our graduates in the field,” he stated.

According to him, the Employer Meeting provided an open and honest dialogue space between academics and practitioners, enabling curricula to become not only textbook-based, but also contextual and applicable. Beyond discussion, the event was also expected to serve as a momentum to expand and strengthen inter-institutional collaboration, including with partners that had not previously worked with FISH UNJ.

“We hope this discussion takes place openly and honestly. More than just a dialogue, this event should become a momentum to expand and strengthen institutional networks, including with organizations that have not previously collaborated with us. The Faculty of Social Sciences and Law (FISH) is fully open to building strategic partnerships to enhance educational quality and graduate relevance,” he added.

As a tangible outcome of strengthened collaboration, the event also featured the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FISH UNJ and industry partners, namely Agung Santoso, S.H., M.M., HRD of Blue Sky Group, and Alfin Raditya, Director of Public and Government Affairs of Eduversal Foundation. This collaboration is expected to open opportunities for internship programs, applied research, and graduate recruitment.