The Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Brawijaya (FEB UB) held a guest lecture with Bank Indonesia with the theme “Road to East Java Economic (EJAVEC) Forum 2025: Increasing Productivity, Innovation, and Economic Capacity of East Java Amidst Various Global Challenges.” Taking place in the Hall of the Main Building, 3rd Floor, FEB UB, this activity became a strategic forum to discuss policy directions and efforts to strengthen the economic capacity of East Java amidst the dynamics and uncertainty of the global economy.
The event was opened by Dr. rer. pol. Wildan Syafitri, S.E., M.E., as the Head of ISEI Malang Branch, who expressed his appreciation to all parties who had contributed and the hope that this discussion would provide real benefits for the academic world and public policy.
The Dean of FEB, Dr. Abdul Ghofar, S.E., M.Sc., DBA., Ak., in his remarks emphasized the importance of openness in facing global challenges. He highlighted how various global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, and trade wars have impacted economic stability, but also opened up opportunities for growth through globalization and cross-sector cooperation.
Furthermore, Ridzky Prihadi Tjahyanto, Advisor to the Representative Office of Bank Indonesia for East Java Province, said that global uncertainty is still high, especially due to geopolitical tensions and tariff wars. He encouraged the active contribution of academics and practitioners in designing innovative ideas to maintain the momentum of economic growth in East Java, which is currently the province with the second largest economy in Indonesia.
The presentation session was opened by M. Barik Bathaluddin, Expert Economist at the BI Representative Office for East Java Province, who explained global and national economic trends, as well as strategies for encouraging sustainable economic growth in East Java.
The second material was delivered by Prof. Dwi Budi Santoso, S.E., M.S., Ph.D., Professor of FEB, who discussed the approach in tourism development planning and the Solow economic growth theory. In his presentation, Prof. Dwi explained that the Solow theory describes cyclical economic growth, where the center of growth is centered on the concept of a convergence club—namely, regions with lagging economies will catch up with more developed regions, while regions that are already prosperous will experience slower growth. In addition, he also explained the method of mapping centers of economic growth as an effort to encourage equitable development between regions.
The last presentation was presented by Dwi Handoko, a FEB UB student and second place winner of GPU EJAVEC 2024, who presented the results of his research entitled “Spatial Analysis of Tourism Economic Networks in East Java: A Modified Gravity Model Approach with Big Data Integration.” Together with his team from PT Sagamartha Ultima, Handoko showed how big data integration can be used in the analysis of tourism economic networks in East Java.
This guest lecture is a collaborative forum between academics and monetary authorities to formulate regional development strategies that are innovative, inclusive, and adaptive to global challenges [sha, 2025/UB PR/ Trans. Iir].
