Universitas Indonesia (UI) and the Indian Embassy held a meeting on Tuesday (19/3) in the University Administration Center Building, UI Depok Campus, to explore various opportunities for collaboration. Previously, UI had collaborated with three universities in India: the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, and Coorg Institute of Dental Sciences.
India is known as a country with advantages in terms of technology education. Secretary of UI, dr. Agustin Kusumayati, M.Sc., Ph.D, welcomed the meeting. She believes the discussions held by both parties will open many opportunities for UI to strengthen and expand the potential for collaboration with universities in India. “We hope this meeting can be the start of various other collaborative activities that will be developed in the future,” said dr. Agustin.
On that occasion, the Indian Embassy introduced an international standard scholarship or course program, namely the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Program (ITEC) and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). According to Counselor Education Embassy of India, Ram Kumar, these two programs are an effort to bring the creative minds and extraordinary talents of both parties. The relationship between India and Indonesia has been around for a long time. We get a lot of requests to carry out various collaborative activities in the education sector, especially with universities in Indonesia,” said Ram Kumar.
ITEC is a world-class capacity-building and scholarship-training institution that focuses on improving skills in various fields, such as agriculture, banking, insurance, and other study programs. Under the ITEC Program, all expenses, including international air tickets, visas, course fees, accommodation, living allowance, study tour fees, book allowance, and health facilities, are borne by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India.
Meanwhile, ICCR is a scholarship program from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (Admission to Alumni) that aims to build, revive, and strengthen cultural relations between India and other countries. Ram Kumar said this program is specifically aimed at Indonesian students who want to study in India. ICCR registration can be done online via the official website.
dr. Agustin assessed that the two scholarship programs open opportunities for UI students who want to learn and enrich their insight into Indian culture. The discussion was also attended by the Head of the Public Relations and KIP Bureau, Dra. Amelita Lusia, M.Si; Head of International Affairs, drg. Baiduri Widanarko, M.KKK., Ph.D; and Head of Sub-Directorate for Education and Government Cooperation, Dr. Eko Sakapurnama, S.Psi., MBA. Also present from the Indian Embassy was the Cultural and Education Assistant of the Embassy of India, K. Aziz.
