Stella Christie Hopes Indonesian Students Can Optimize How To Learn Based On Innovation

Prof. Stella Christie after briefing the duties of the deputy ministerial candidate at the residence of Elected President Prabowo Subianto, Hambalang, Bogor Regency, West Java. (ANTARA/M Fikri Setiawan)

JAKARTA - Under the leadership of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Stella Christie officially serves as Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Wamendiktisaintek).

Stella, which has a strong educational background in cognitive science, to international standard experiences in academia, is considered to be a great potential to contribute to the development of education in Indonesia.

One of the results of his popular research focused on how humans learn and think, which he uses an interdisciplinary approach that combines human, animal, and artificial intelligence (AI) studies to answer the fundamental question: 'Why are we smart?'.

The works of the woman who was born in Medan January 11, 1979 have also been published in various leading scientific journals, such as Current Biology, Cognitive Science, Scientific Reports, to the Journal of Cognition and Development, and one of them received the title of the best article in 2010.

In addition, his educational history is a good example that can inspire the nation's children. Stella Christie studied from elementary to middle levels in elementary, junior high and high school Santa Ursula, Jakarta, and then received a scholarship to continue his education at Red Cross Nordic United World College, Norway.

It didn't stop there, Stella also received a full scholarship from Harvard University at the Faculty of Psychology and graduated with the title of magna cumlaude with Highest Honors in 2004, and then continued her studies to her doctoral level at Northwestern University, and earned a PhD in 2010.

Then he became a professor at Swarthore University, Pennsylvania, United States, from 2012 to 2018 and earned a permanent position as a professor at Tsinghua University China.

In Indonesia's higher education world, Stella is not new because she has collaborated with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) in discussing how to create a creative ecosystem in the world of higher education in 2020, as well as providing an introductory word for a book published by the Ministry of Education and Culture and Technology entitled "The Esai Conclusion on Developing Creativity in Indonesia".

Stella's role in introducing innovative teaching methods is believed to be in line with President Prabowo's vision and mission, one of his main focuses is improving the quality of education and the development of science and technology to encourage the nation's independence.

In this mission, President Prabowo emphasized the importance of technological innovation in the development of strategic industries and increasing the role of higher education in producing superior and adaptive human resources to global change.

It is hoped that the appointment of Prof. Stella Christie to become Wamdiktisaintek RI will be able to accelerate the move towards an innovation-based developed country.

The integration between research and industry supported by adequate policies is expected to encourage progress in strategic sectors, such as digital technology, green energy, and the manufacturing industry.