Bina Nusantara offers world-class education

Bina Nusantara offers world-class education

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With the aim of improving the country's human capital, the Bina
Nusantara University relaunched its international undergraduate
program on Wednesday.

"We have made several changes to the curriculum and are
providing more subject choice," said BiNus International's
executive director Firdaus Alamsjah.

The university, which is associated with Australia's Curtin
University of Technology, Murdoch University and RMIT University,
started providing dual degree programs in 2001 under its
International Undergraduate Program.

"Actually, we are trying to prove that local universities can
perform as well as those abroad," said BiNus International's
director Abi Jabar.

"The "international" label serves to assure parents that their
children will receive a quality education."

With an average intake of 150 to 200 students, the university
has introduced what it calls its "link and match" curriculum,
where classes are conducted fully through the medium of English.

The curriculum is made up of 40 percent national compulsory
subjects and 60 percent industry-related subjects. "We are trying
to reduce the dissatisfaction of industry with the quality of our
graduates, as well as ensuring that our graduates can easily find
jobs," he said.

Abi explained that currently the program aimed at provide the
sort of graduates required by industry, especially the IT,
computer science and marketing industries.

BiNus International, based at the university's campus in
Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, requires its students to spend
their first three years studying and their final year studying at
one of their Australian partners.

In return for all the facilities offered by the university,
parents must be ready to pay an average of Rp 30 million in
tuition fees per year.

"Quality education does not come cheap as the institution
has to provide the best infrastructure and human resources," said
former education minister Wardiman Djojonegoro, who attended the
launch in his capacity as an education expert.