Delegations from University of Queensland (UQ) attended a meeting with Universitas Indonesia (UI). Both parties discussed their matters on Monday (03/10/2022) at Ruang Sidang on the 9th Floor of the Rectorate Building, Universitas Indonesia, Depok.
The delegations were as follows:
- Professor Deborah Terry AO as the President and Vice-Chancellor,
- Rongyu Li as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President (Global Engagement),
- Brett Lovegrove as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Partnership),
- Professor Heather Zwicker as the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
- Professor Helen Klaebe as the Dean of The Graduate School,
- Professor Aleksandar Rakic as the Associate Dean of the External Engagement, Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology,
- Nadia Sarah as the Senior Principal Adviser – South East Asia, Future Students,
- Fitria Arsianti as the Principal Adviser – South East Asia, Future Students,
The delegations were welcomed by the Secretary to the University, dr. Agustin Kusumayati, M.Sc., Ph.D., and moderated by the Coordinator for Partnership of International Office, Suyanti Adi Prawiro. Also attending the meeting were:
- Dr. rer. Nat. Abdul Haris as the Vice Rector of the Academic and Student Affairs,
- Dr. Drs. Semiarto Aji Purwanto, M.Si. as the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences,
- Arief Wibisono Lubis, Ph.D. as the Vice Dean for Education, Research and Student Affairs of the Faculty of Economics & Business,
- Dicky C. Pelupessy, Ph.D. as the Vice Dean for Education, Research and Student Affairs of the Faculty of Psychology,
- Nurul Isnaeni, Ph.D. as the Vice Dean for Education, Research, and Student Affairs of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences,
- Ir. Mahmud Sudibandriyo, M.Sc., Ph.D. as the Vice Dean for Resources, Ventures and General Administration of the Faculty of Engineering,
- Amelita Lusia, M.Si. as the Head of Public Relations and Public Information Office,
- Gatot Fatwanto Hertono, M.Sc., Ph.D. as the Director of Academic Development and Learning Resources,
- Astha Ekadiyanto, S.T., M.Sc. as the Director of Center for Independent Learning (CIL),
- Masita Mandasari. Ph.D.Sp.PM. as the Head of Sub-Directorate for Research Collaborative Development.
The meeting began with a discussion session regarding the cooperation agreement. Some of the few main concerns brought up by both parties are regarding the improvement of joint and double degree programs on multiple faculties (namely the Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Psychology, Faculty of Engineering, and the long-standing partner, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences), the expansion of mobility programs for students and staffs, and several new collaboration ideas to keep up with the current trends.
dr. Agustin added a potential program that could benefit the cooperation between UI and UQ, which is the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM), initiated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. The program allows students to explore the world outside of campus, especially through internship and entrepreneurship programs.
In addition, one notable thing brought up by the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Professor Aji was an idea proposed to include the Criminology program specifically within the agreement in the form of a joint degree program in Cyber Security. Professor Heather responded positively towards the notion and mentioned that the said program could bring in some potentials, although the complexity of a multidisciplinary program means that a practical collaboration is preferred rather than a sole academic study.
Professor Deborah expressed that the relationship between UI and UQ is in great shape, as Indonesia is one of the top priorities stated within the New Colombo Plan. Furthermore, the cooperation is expected to flourish throughout the years with the improvement of programs discussed earlier. Despite that, both UI and UQ are faced with a challenge to grab the attention of the people so they are also able to support the programs to run in line with the vision of both parties. Regarding this obstacle, UI invited UQ to participate in the Asia Pacific QS Summit this November.
Lastly, the Director of Academic Development and Learning Resources, Drs. Gatot and the Director of Center for Independent Learning (CIL), Mr. Astha mentioned that online platforms such as the Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) UI could also be used as a way to maintain the study and research for students of both parties flexibly.
The meeting ended with the signing of the cooperation agreement document between UI and UQ which implies that both parties are expected to implement the collaboration concretely to provide a positive outcome for the campus and the people.