Indonesian, Chinese universities boost academic collaboration
According to the Education and Culture Attache at the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, Lestari Puspitaningsih, ten campuses from Indonesia and China offered ways to strengthen academic engagements at a seminar on the internationalization of Indonesia-China higher education on Saturday, June 26.
“It is important to expand academic collaboration as part of strengthening Indonesia-China bilateral relations through education, research, and student-lecturer mobility,” she stated in a written statement.
During the online seminar, participating Indonesian and Chinese universities showcased their study programs, student exchange schemes, and scholarships to encourage educational engagement between the two countries.
Puspitaningsih highlighted APPBIPA China, the Chinese branch of the organization uniting teachers of the Indonesian language for foreigners (BIPA) program, as an example of agencies that can help bolster educational cooperation between Indonesia and China.
“We want to collaborate with associations of Chinese language teachers in Indonesia as well as several universities in Indonesia and China to accomplish this work,” the embassy official added.
Hendy Yuniarto, chairperson of APPBIPA China, highlighted the growing number of Chinese speakers interested in learning Indonesian as economic and educational ties between the two countries continue to deepen.
Meanwhile, Fitriya, deputy head of PPBMI, an association of Chinese-language teaching professionals in Indonesia, noted that this trend has been matched by a growing number of Indonesian students eager to learn Chinese.
China’s Education Attache to Indonesia, Chen Wu, also highlighted educational cooperation as a foundation to strengthen bilateral relations for years to come.
“Increasing the mobility of students and lecturers will encourage quality collaboration in research, innovation, and human resources development,” Chen said.
Chinese universities that participated in the agenda were Hebei International Studies University (HISU), Xiamen University, Fujian Polytechnic Normal University (FPNU), Northeast Normal University (NENU), and Hefei University of Technology (HFUT).
Meanwhile, Indonesian representatives at the event included State University of Jakarta (UNJ), Indonesia University of Education (UPI), State University of Surabaya (UNESA), Andalas University, and Ahmad Dahlan University (UAD).
Over 300 participants, including students, lecturers, and higher education representatives, participated in the online event.
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Translator: Desca Lidya N, Nabil Ihsan