JAKARTA, Telkom University – The term Metaverse is now in the spotlight of various parties. This term existed in the 2000s but only recently became widely known to the public after Facebook developed the Metaverse product, defined as a virtual environment that can enter, instead of just looking at the monitor screen. Then what is challenging is how to use Metaverse in daily activities.
This challenge was quickly answered by the Telkom University Alumni Forum (FAST) by holding a Pentahelix Talkshow, Inauguration, and Inauguration of the board for the 2021-2025 period at Metaverse on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at 15.30 – 18.00 WIB at FX Sudirman, Central Jakarta. With the event’s success, FAST became the first organization to inaugurate and inaugurate the board of directors in Metaverse.
The event opened with a Keynote Speech from Edi Witjara, an Alumni of Telkom University and now the Director of Enterprise and Business Service Telkom Indonesia. Edi Witjara hopes that alumni can continue to improve their roles and expertise in the digital transformation era in Indonesia. “It is intended that FAST can become a Top of Mind Digital Experts such as Experts in Planning, Implementation, Business Models, and Product Development. If this happens, the value of FAST will increase and become a reference for other Alumni Associations in terms of digital transformation,” explained Edi Witjara.
Prof. Dr. Adiwijaya, S.Si., M.Sc., Chancellor of Telkom University, in his Keynote Speech, said that Telkom University had developed a curriculum that supports metaverse development. It is done with the hope of preparing Digital Talent, who, when he is in his last year of college, is ready to become a player in technological developments, especially the Metaverse. “We prepared this curriculum to prepare Digital Talents who can adapt in the Metaverse. Because we cannot stop technological developments, the only choice is we have to wait and see or want to be a player and even become a leader in it,” said Prof. Adi.
Sri Safitri, President of FAST 2021-2025, said, “Metaverse is a technological development which shortly will be massively used by many people for various activities. For example, holding meetings, music concerts, and even learning activities can be done on Metaverse.”
Furthermore, Sri Safitri conveyed the importance of Telkom University alumni with a solid educational background in the IT and digital fields to collaborate and contribute to Indonesia. “The talents of the inaugurated FAST Management are expected to be pioneers of digital transformation and contribute not only to the alma mater of Telkom University but also to the nation and state and even the world,” said Sri Safitri.
At the Pentahelix Talkshow session, Alumni from elements of Academics, Industry, Government, Media, and Community were present, namely Prof. Dr. Suyanto, S.T., M.Sc. (Professor of Telkom University in the field of Artificial Intelligence); Mohamad Ramzy (Director of Finance & Risk Management Telkomsel); Yudhistira Nugraha (Director of Jakarta Smart City); Hugo Diba (CEO Coil); and Cut Noosy (FAST Manager) as talk show moderator.
Yudhistira Nugraha, Director of Jakarta Smart City, said, “in welcoming the metaverse era, not only technology and infrastructure must be ready, but also communication, business, creativity to be able to realize a Metaverse that provides comfort, convenience, and dependability.” He also said, “The more we enter into the Metaverse, the greater the risk. With the greater the risk, that is where the government must regulate through regulations.”
On the other hand, Mohamad Ramzy, Director of Finance & Risk Management at Telkomsel, said, “Metaverse is a digital environment that is very relevant to what Telkomsel is currently living. Metaverse also includes a fully functional economy. If we only dwell on the fact that this (Metaverse, ed) is only a digital environment, (then) it will only become hype and have no economic impact, or it will be difficult (to) monetize.” “But in reality, this is not the case, that in the metaverse environment there is a rolling economic impact, there is a primary and secondary market,” concluded Ramzy.
The metaverse market could hit $783.3 billion in 2024 vs. $478.7 billion in 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.1%. The talkshow speakers agreed that Indonesia is ready with the Metaverse in terms of infrastructure. As evidenced by the Indihome connection supported by Telkom Indonesia, the Inauguration activities at Metaverse were able to run smoothly.
Previously, Sri Safitri was appointed as President of FAST for the period 2021-2025 through the General Meeting of FAST Members, held on December 4, 2021. FAST itself is a community consisting of more than 62 thousand alumni of Telkom University, STT Telkom, STMB, College of Fine Arts and Design Indonesia (STISI), and Telkom Polytechnic, which is now spread across Indonesia and more than 40 countries. (FAST)