Universitas Indonesia (UI) held a meeting with Conventry University to discuss the possible collaboration between them. The meeting was held at the 2nd floor of UI Rectorate Building on Thursday (20/5). The meeting was attended by UI Rector Prof. Ari Kuncoro, S.E., M.A., Ph.D.; Deputy Chancellor for Academic and Student Affair of UI, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Abdul Haris; Deputy Chancellor for Research and Innovation of UI, drg. Nurtami, Ph.D., Sp,OF(K);Director of Collaboration of UI, Dr. Toto Pranoto, S.E., M.M.; Director of Research and Development, Dr. Munawar Khalil; Director of Innovation and Science Techno Park, Ahmad Gamal, S.Ars., M.U.P., Ph.D.; the head of International Office, drg. Baiduri Widanarko, M.KKK, Ph.D.; and the head of Public Relation and KIP, Dra. Amelita Lusia, M.Si.
And the delegation from Coventry University were Pro-Vice-Chancellor International–Coventry University, Prof. Richard Wells; Regional Managing Director–Coventry University Singapore Hub, Michael Yap; Regional Business Development Manager–Coventry University Singapore Hub, Augviera Bong; serta Regional Business Development Executive–Coventry University Singapore Hub, Jovie Pebrihandono.
On that occasion, Prof. Ari gave an overview of the educational programs at UI. In the international scheme, UI had many study programs, which are degree program that includes post-graduate, and non-degree program in the form of student exchange for 6–12 months for students from partner universities.
“Now, UI has 14 faculties and 2 post-graduate school, and one vocational program that can be chosen for foreign students according to their field of interest. Through this collaboration, we also involve students, researchers, and our best staff in order to be able to collaborate in various research and innovation.” said Prof.Ari.
UI hope that these researches that is being developed is not only give benefits academically, but also globally. Because of that, a comparative study is being done by UI researchers to widen the knowledge of the researchers so that the result of their research will give positive impact to the global community. To support the international program, which is the G20, UI is also collaborating with the Indonesian government on three global strategic issues, which are global health, energy transition, and digital economic transformation in order to produce the right policy brief.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor International–Coventry University, Prof. Richard Wells, on that occasion said, UI’s programs are in line with the Convenry University’s. According to Prof. Richard, Coventry University is a relatively a young university, but one of the most globally focused in the UK. This is proven by the number of international students of the university that ranked on the third position in the UK. Prof. Richard said that this diversity is extraordinary because various cultures can work in harmony and provide rich input.
Currently, Coventry University has branches in several countries, namely Brussels (Europe), Middle East (Dubai), Singapore, and Africa (Kigali). They will also open similar hub in Beijing and India. “The purpose of this hub is to provide us with outputs in the development of inter-university relations. In addition to being present as a cultural relation between nations, this collaboration also allows for benefits in relations between state institutions,” said Prof. Richard
The collaboration that is being opened by UI and Conventry Universoty is hoped to widen global education and research. In line with the mandate from the Minister of Education and Culture of Republic Indonesia related to the Merdeka Belajar- Kampus Merdeka (Independent Study) Program, UI is committed to widen education not only in the national level, but also in the international level. Currently, UI and Coventry University have collaborated in the academic and research fields through the Indonesia International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program.
The IISMA program is the flagship program of MBKM from the Ministry of Education and Culture which provides opportunities for Indonesian students to gain global exposure. The experience gained has a positive impact and is beneficial for UI students to be more courageous in developing themselves, showing their abilities and talents.
“The enthusiasm of UI students in participating in the IISMA program is very high this year, seen from the number of registrants which has jumped five times compared to the previous year. This shows that the awareness and desire of UI students to enrich and upgrade themselves to be more sensitive to important world issues and the desire to interact with the global community is increasing, in order to prepare themselves to become global citizens,” said Baiduri.
This year, 195 UI students passed the selection to receive IISMA scholarships, which is the highest number compared to other universities in Indonesia. UI hopes that students can take advantage of this prestigious opportunity to play an increasingly active role in facing, overcoming global challenges, and proactively contributing to the world.
