RI, U.S. universities strengthen ties<\/p>\n
Theresia Sufa, Depok<\/p>\n
More than 100 university leaders and professors from 80 higher
\neducation institutions in Indonesia and the United States met to
\ndiscuss how they could strengthen ties and continue to build
\nrelations between their respective organizations in a forum that
\nended on Friday.<\/p>\n
The two-day forum, called \"Indonesia-USA Bilateral Forum on
\nHigher Education Partnerships: Future Directions,\" was held at
\nthe University of Indonesia's (UI) campus in Depok and hosted by
\nthe Ministry of Education's Directorate General of Higher
\nEducation.<\/p>\n
During the forum, participants discussed successful models of
\nexisting Indonesian-international cooperative programs,
\nopportunities for and constraints to cooperation and ongoing
\ninitiatives such as the Nusantara International Scholarship,
\nwhich aims to support 400 Indonesians annually to study for PhDs
\nin the United States.<\/p>\n
UI rector Usman Chatib Warsa, who chaired the forum's
\norganizing committee, said most of the funding for the
\nscholarships, estimated at $25 million annually, would not come
\nfrom the Indonesian government.<\/p>\n
\"We all know the government doesn't have enough money for
\nthat,\" said Usman. \"That's why individual partnerships between
\nuniversities are essential, especially now that (Indonesian)
\nuniversities are independent.\"<\/p>\n
He added that the forum hoped to establish a consortium of
\ninternational donors, possibly from Japan, Australia, Europe and
\nthe United States, to finance the project, which aims to increase
\nthe number of top-notch scholars in Indonesia. It is estimated
\nthat out of around 220 million people in Indonesia, currently
\nless than 7,500 hold PhDs.<\/p>\n
The project was first proposed during last year's inaugural
\nforum, held in Washington DC, by Prof. Karl Jackson of the Johns
\nHopkins University's School for Advanced International Studies.<\/p>\n
Throughout the forum, discussions between individual
\nuniversities also took place on the possibility of implementing
\nconcrete academic cooperation in the near future, possibly by
\nestablishing joint-degree programs, where a student could obtain
\nU.S. and Indonesian degrees simultaneously.<\/p>\n
The forum also sought to establish closer relations between
\nresearchers in Indonesia and the United States as part of efforts
\nto increase mutual understanding between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Specific attention was also given to formulating concrete
\nassistance for higher education institutions in tsunami-torn
\nAceh, which was represented by the University of Syah Kuala.<\/p>\n
The forum, which was also sponsored by the United States
\nIndonesia Society and the Indonesian Embassy in the United
\nStates, was attended by representatives of about 50 universities
\nfrom all over Indonesia and 30 from the United States.<\/p>\n
U.S. universities participating included, among others, the
\nUniversity of Michigan, Johns Hopkins University, Ohio State
\nUniversity, the University of Southern California, the University
\nof Hawaii, the University of Cincinnati and the East-West Center.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-us-universities-strengthen-ties-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}