International university finds local market
International university finds local market
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
What do people seek from an overseas education?
The fact that a large number of Indonesian students are
seeking higher education abroad encouraged several professionals
to bring quality education closer to Indonesians by establishing
the Swiss German University (SGU).
The efforts are paying off. Last Saturday, 58 students
graduated with a double bachelor degree, and 31 others with
master's degree from SGU.
"Part of the reason I chose this school is its international
standard of education. It means that I do not have to fly far
from home," said one of SGU's top graduates, Athalia Sugiarto.
Several other parents stated similar reasons for sending their
children to the university, despite the fact that they have to
set aside Rp 22 million every semester and Rp 11 million during
the students' internship.
An engineering degree course in Germany would probably cost
them an average of US$3,000 per semester.
Located in the industrial German Center of Bumi Serpong Damai
(BSD) estate, SGU reported an increasing yearly intake after it
was established in 2000 as a joint effort between Germany,
Austria, Switzerland and Indonesia.
"We started with only 30 students, but this year alone we
accepted 274 new ones," said SGU Vice Rector Ketut Tejawibawa,
adding that last year there were 220 new students entering the
university.
This year, at its fourth graduation ceremony, 58 students
earned a double bachelor degree and 31 others master's degree
from SGU's four faculties -- engineering, information technology,
business administration and life sciences.
SGU Rector Peter Pscheid, who is also a former rector at the
Institute of Technology St Gallen in Switzerland, explained that
despite its international name, the university tried to hire
Indonesian lecturers as well as several expatriates.
"We feel that Indonesians who have a degree from Germany or
other European countries have proven their intellectual agility
by taking heavy courses in engineering while adapting to a new
environment and learning the language," he said.
Initially setting an image of an engineering school -- a field
in which Germany excels -- nowadays SGU finds more students
interested in its business administration program as 60 percent
of them are taking the course, explained Ketut.
"Engineering is heavy work and is limited only to high school
graduates who major in science. We want to open ourselves to both
science and social studies students," he added.
Most of the students graduated from several exclusive private
high schools, such as Jakarta's Santa Ursula, Pangudi Luhur, Al
Azhar and Lab Schools.
With an enrollment requirement of a minimum of 4.25 score on
final examinations and a reasonable standard of English, SGU
graduates were able to find jobs from between one and six months
after graduation.
"We learn a lot about the work culture during our internship,
especially the one I had in Germany," said Athalia.
She explained that professionalism was really highlighted in
the company she worked for during her internship.
Besides everything else that it offers, a close network with
manufacturing industries ready to absorb its graduates is
probably its best asset.