Telkom University’s Wellness & Smart Campus: Pioneering a Smart Ecosystem Living Laboratory
Sendy Ardiansyah, Hesty Nur Mutiara and Rafika Isya Rasyid (Postgraduate MBA students of Telkom University)
Located in Sukapura village, Dayeuhkolot district, with a district area of 1,125 hectares, consisting of the following administrative villages: Cangkuang Kulon covering an area of 243.7 hectares, Cangkuang Wetan covering 209.7 hectares, Citeureup village covering 203 hectares, Dayeuhkolot village covering 102.5 hectares, Sukapura village covering 159.1 hectares, and Pasawahan sub-district covering 207.2 hectares. Of the 159.1 hectares of land in Sukapura village, 50 hectares are administratively and legally designated as the campus area of Telkom University.
Telkom University is the first private university in Indonesia to be accredited with an Excellent rating by BAN-PT, based on the decision letter of the National Accreditation Agency for Higher Education (BAN-PT) №407/SK/BAN-PT/AK-ISK/PT/2021 in 2021.
Currently, Telkom University is recognized by its landmark skyscraper building, which stands tall and proud, symbolizing the excellence of Chandradimuka crater, the center of Indonesia’s young scholars, which is the hope of the nation. The Telkom University Landmark Tower, along with the toll road and high-speed railway linking Jakarta and Bandung, as well as the green rice fields, seem to represent the future of prosperous Indonesia with a focus on agricultural prosperity and independence, smart infrastructure support, and the availability of highly educated human resources who are not only smart but also wise and prudent.
Not only that, the support for the learning process is also attributed to all the holistic factors and variables. The main factor is the situation and condition of the campus, which is a dedicated ecosystem and biome that can provide the best support for academic activities and all aspects of the three pillars of higher education.
Environmental support is a crucial factor that cannot be denied, considering the natural conditions and its contributive role in various aspects of life that cannot be easily denied.
Dayeuhkolot, as the location of Telkom University’s smart campus, is located in an area with the lowest elevation in the Bandung Basin. The area is appropriately named, as it was once the center of the Bandung city government at the beginning of its establishment before shifting to the current city center in the alun-alun area.
Meanwhile, the Bandung Basin itself, as a special geological locus, has a long and interesting history that is worth exploring and studying. The Bandung Basin has been formed since 27 million to 10,000 years ago. It is divided into four types, namely ancient sea, ancient volcano, active volcano, and ancient lake, with their artifacts scattered around Bandung.
The dynamics of volcanology, marked by the eruption of the ancient Mount Sunda resulting in catastrophic impacts of no less intensity than Tambora and Toba, have led to the accumulation of bodies of water that we know as the ancient Lake Bandung and mountain ranges such as Burangrang, Tangkuban Parahu, and Bukit Tunggul.
In addition to objective evidence in the form of geological shapes and rock statuses that can be observed, there is also other evidence that is part of the dynamic social interaction between humans and their natural and environmental conditions (habitat). This can be traced from the toponymy of several areas that are part of the Bandung Basin. Many areas are toponymically related to water, lakes, bays, curves, bojongs, bebers, nambos, rancas, situs, and others.
In addition to water, the names of areas in the Bandung Basin also come from the names of plants. It is estimated that these plants existed in the location in ancient times. For example, Buahbatu comes from the betel nut tree, Cibeunying comes from the beunying tree, Ciganitri comes from the ganitri tree, Cibiru (blue tree), Binongjati (binong tree), Cijawura (jawura fruit), Ciburahol (burahol fruit), Kebonwaru (waru tree), and others.
From the period of the eruption of Mount Sunda Purba from 210,000 to 105,000 years ago, and the “leakage” in the Jompong and Cukang Rahong waterfalls, the Bandung Plain that we know today, including Dayeuhkolot, was formed. As an area that was once part of the “bottom” of the ancient Lake Bandung, it is now part of the catchment area of the Citarum River basin. The river originates from Cisanti in Mount Wayang, Kertasari District, Bandung Regency, and flows into the Java Sea with a river length of around 270 km, with a centripetal or centralized river flow pattern, and serves as the main river for 105 tributaries that flow into it.
Other data suggests that the Citarum River is around 297 kilometers long and passes through 13 cities/districts in West Java. The Citarum River also has tributaries that pass through the city of Bandung, namely the Cikapundung River. In 2018, the World Bank named the Citarum River as the world’s most polluted river due to household and industrial waste pollution that occupies its banks. This condition was anticipated by the Commander of the III Siliwangi Military Regional Command at that time, Major General TNI Doni Monardo, who initiated the Citarum Harum program, which has been quite effective in improving the condition of the Citarum River basin.
Returning to the role of the campus ecosystem, which is the habitat of the nation’s aspiring academic fighters, efforts to optimize natural and environmental contributing factors in the construction of human intelligence become extremely important and need to be managed in an integrated and sustainable manner.
Even in one article published online in January 2016 titled “The Impact of Different Environmental Conditions on Cognitive Function: A Focused Review” by Lee Taylor et al. in Frontiers in Physiology, the correlational relationship between environmental conditions and various indicators of cognitive function was examined in great detail. Cognitive function is defined as performance in objective tasks that require conscious mental effort (Lamport et al., 2014). Such tasks include memory (verbal, spatial, and working), attention, and executive function (Lezak, 2004). Environmental factors can include local climate conditions such as temperature and humidity, air quality and content, pollutant levels, particulate density in the air, and many other factors.
This includes various variables that fall under the category of Biophilly. According to Dr. Andry Dachlan, a leading holistic health expert in Indonesia, the biophilic effect is found in biodiversity content such as the amount of phytoncides in plants, and the content of electrons in soil that can be used as therapy to release inflammation. This also determines various physiological conditions related to the pattern of interaction between academic communities who are active in the campus environment and the nature that becomes their habitat.
The ecosystem management domain of the campus in optimizing its role as a support for the campus’s main program in educating the nation’s children in accordance with its motto “partum in futuro,” which means creating or giving birth to the future, is crucial and can be approached holistically through the wellness approach.
Referring to Dr. Andry Dachlan’s explanation, wellness medicine, also known as holistic or integrative medicine, is an approach in the healthcare world that emphasizes the integration of physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects in an effort to maintain a person’s health and well-being.
Wellness medicine assumes that health is not just the absence of illness, but rather the optimal state of the body, mind, and spirit. This approach focuses on prevention and maintenance of health, as well as improving overall quality of life.
In practice, wellness medicine involves doctors or healthcare professionals working with patients to understand and manage the factors that affect health holistically. This approach includes various aspects such as nutrition, physical activity, stress management, good sleep, emotional support, and healthy social relationships. In addition, it may also involve techniques such as acupuncture, yoga, meditation, massage, and other therapies that can help restore the body’s natural balance.
Wellness medicine views individuals as a complex unity and considers the interaction between physical, emotional, social, and environmental factors in assessing health and addressing health problems. Its goal is to stimulate the body’s natural healing potential and promote holistic balance.
The campus area, which covers 50 hectares, is a unique ecological area with great potential. At the initiative of the rector, in this case Prof. Adiwijaya, who is not only academically excellent but also a visionary leader who understands the concept of cultivating the senses, body, mind, creativity, and spirit, emphasizing the function of being a comprehensive khalifah in generating mercy, a biopore well network, integrated waste treatment systems, campus forests, pedestrian trekking paths, water resources preservation through infiltration ponds, lakes, and integrated fisheries ponds have been developed at the national campus of Telkom University in such a way that they meet energy needs from new and renewable sources such as solar panels. This includes the fulfillment of raw water and drinking water needs through mechanisms that are more “green” and environmentally friendly.
In the future, it would be advisable for Telkom University’s national campus to become a living laboratory in the process of managing the campus as a center for education and research on sustainable environmental management potential.
Integrated plastic waste management, including the utilization of pyrolysis technology, as well as energy conversion through micro biogas reactors and incinerators, can be integrated with technology applications that are core materials in the learning and education process.
IoT applications can be used to acquire environmental data and analyze it to support environmental management decision-making systems that can become a flagship program that can be replicated nationally.
The environmental indicators in the context of a wellness campus that can be measured include air pollution, noise pollution, humidity, anemometer, land zoning, vegetation and fauna biodiversity, light density/luminance level, etc. (Dr. Andry Dachlan, 2023).
The constructive pro-environmental efforts that have been initiated by Telkom University’s management, such as cultivating endemic plants, fisheries, and the distribution of various types of animals such as rabbits and deer, are remarkable initiatives. In addition to being maintained, these efforts should be further developed while emphasizing the aspect of local species breeding, which is crucial in maintaining the quality of the local ecosystem authentically. For example, in the fish ponds, local species such as catfish, snakehead, and wader are raised, and for vegetation, Tarum, Binong, Kecapi, etc. are cultivated.
Tarum or Indigofera tinctoria has been known since the Medang era as a natural dye for wdihan or cloth used as clothing material. It is also important to consider various species that can absorb greenhouse gases such as carbon monoxide and dioxide, produce high concentrations of oxygen, and improve water retention potential to prevent runoff.
The use of AI in the context of environmental intelligence can also help improve the accuracy of the distribution of certain vegetation species, map potential risks if there is an imbalance in the ecosystem, such as an outbreak of vector-borne diseases that originate from the explosion of certain species that are vectors of the disease due to the disruption of ecosystem homeostasis.
For example, AI can map the potential diseases that may occur if the population of Beunter or Rasbora argyrotaenia fish species in the lakes and ponds on Telkom University’s campus complex decreases. Similarly, various dynamics related to the presence of other supporting factors for ecosystem quality can also be mapped using AI.
It is hoped that by developing the concept of a smart ecosystem living laboratory, Telkom University’s national campus can not only become a center of higher education and an excellent center in Indonesia and Southeast Asia but also a model for developing intelligent environmental management systems based on the use of cutting-edge technology.
Acknowledgement :
We would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Tauhid Nur Azhar who has been a mentor and inspiration for the creation of this work and writing. We also extend our thanks to Prof. Dr. Adiwijaya, the Rector of Telkom University.
“Ayo #RaihMasaDepanmu Bersama Telkom University”
