When discussing People and Knowledge Management, the SBM ITB civitas academic must remember the expert, Prof. Jann Hidajat Tjakraatmadja. It is inextricably linked to his 42-years of service as an educator in the related field. Fortunately, the SBM ITB Marketing and Communications team had the opportunity to interview him during his journey at ITB.
Prof. Jann is constantly reminded to be useful to society by his parents who were elementary school teachers in Panjalu. Thus, after graduating from the ITB Faculty of Industrial Engineering in 1979, he accepted the offer to teach at his alma mater.
“It never occurred to me that my life path would be similar to my parents, who are both dedicated to the practice of science. Back then, my classmates had many job offers outside of university, such as banking, companies, etc. However, after starting my journey at ITB, I realized how much I enjoyed being a lecturer. Being a lecturer has become my life requirement and my soul. It is not forced, but because it has become a call for life,” said the Indonesian Knowledge Management Society President.
At the beginning of his career as a young lecturer at the Department of Industrial Engineering, ITB, in 1980, with his friend Prof. Iftikar Sutalaksana (deceased.) and Han Ruahana MBA (deceased.), Prof. Jann wrote a book entitled “Teknik Tata Cara Kerja” (Working Procedures), used by more than 200 Industrial Engineering Faculties throughout Indonesia to date. The book is also used in various government departments throughout Indonesia.
To fulfil the requirement of lecturers to constantly update their knowledge, Prof. Jann accepted a scholarship from the Belgian government to study at the University of Leuven in 1980. In 1982, he returned with a Master of Industrial Engineering degree. In addition, General Electric sponsored Prof. Jann for a one-semester sabbatical leave at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York in 1994, where He learned how RPI built a Business Incubator, and wrote his second book on Technology Management.
In 1997, he took his second sabbatical leave at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. In Twente, he became acquainted with the concept of Knowledge Management, which he then pursued in his dissertation research, the results of which he wrote with his colleague (Donald C Lantu), entitled “Knowledge Management – In Organizational Context Learner”.
Jann and SBM ITB
Jann is well-regarded on campus as a tough, firm, and disciplined lecturer. Few people, however, are aware of his gentle side. While weeping, he told the story of SBM ITB’s establishment. As a lecturer who has spent more than two decades of his life at ITB, he is extremely proud of SBM’s achievements today.
Prof.Jann cannot forget many aspects of SBM ITB. He knows exactly how the journey of SBM, with special autonomy in ITB, began because he was a direct participant. Despite its independence, SBM has been able to grow for 17 years due to the various accomplishments of the people involved.
There were only ten lecturers, 15 education staff, and 300 students at the start. And now there are 95 lecturers, 110 education staff, and 3000 students, with graduates who are well received by the community. All thanks to the lecturers’ and teaching staff’s integrity, hard work, seriousness, and discipline.
Despite all of the accomplishments to date, Prof. Jann encourages the entire community to continue developing and innovating. He stated that there he has many expectations for ITB and SBM. “As Merdeka Campus, we must be able to continue to innovate and excel at a world-class level to free the Indonesian nation from knowledge poverty,” said Jann.
He also hopes that ITB will produce more academics, particularly professors, to educate the entire nation.
At the end of the meeting, he motivated us to keep up the current development. “Life is a change, and change must have a positive impact, so lecturers and staff must have updated knowledge. Wherever we are, we must give positive meaning to those around us. That’s what I’ve always tried to do,” stated one of the members of the ITB academic senate.
Prof. Jann Hidajat Tjakraatmadja, thank you for your time, energy, and thought-provoking contributions. Your name will be remembered for the rest of our life. For God, nation, and alma mater!
“Have Good Principles, Dream Good and Choose Good – Our Way of Life Will Be Good” – Jann Hidajat Tjakraatmadja (2021)