Educational institutions, like universities, have strong interest for industries to flourish. Without strong industries, education will lose its purpose. How can one convince the society that someone should study in a particular major if relevant industries do not even well developed? Even worse, one will not be interested in studying a particular major if there is no relevant industries. Hence, educational institutions should do their best to support the development of industries.

That was the reason for me to share my geospatial knowledge to employees of PT. Madhava Persada in Yogyakarta. I understand, while the company focuses its services on geospatial field, some employees do not have adequate geospatial background. It is acceptable since each employee has their own role, which might not be directly related to geospatial matters.

I gave a one-hour lecture and the employees paid attention really well. I realize one thing that we, academicians, really need to share our knowledge. Something simple for academician might be that simple for practitioners. It can be an enlightenment. Similarly, academicians also need to listen from practitioners to enrich their understanding, especially to put their knowledge in practical contexts.

In short, academicians and practitioners need to collaborate. Educational institutions need to be hand in hand with industries to support each other.