ITB-SWJTU launch Tianyou-Djuanda Excellent Engineers College programme

ITB and Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU) are collaborating to launch a programme for the development of transport and railway education titled the Tianyou-Djuanda Excellent Engineers College in Bandung. The collaboration follows the signing of an agreement between ITB Rector Tatacipta Dirgantara and SWJTU President Yan Xuedong in the “Signing Ceremony for the Overseas Tianyou Railway Institutes” held in Chengdu, China, on Friday 15 May. The programme, initiated by ITB’s Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (FTMD) and SWJTU, represents an effort to strengthen collaboration in education, research, and talent development in the field of transport engineering and railway engineering at the master’s level. “The first implementation of this cooperation agreement is the organisation of a Double Degree Master Programme in Railway Engineering, which is expected to enhance academic capacity, research, and human resources development in the rail transport sector,” said Tatacipta. The Tianyou-Djuanda name draws on two prominent figures in engineering and transport from China and Indonesia. Zhan Tianyou is known as the “Father of China’s Railroad”, a pioneer of the first modern railway line built in China without foreign assistance. Djuanda Kartawidjaja, an alumnus of Technische Hoogeschool te Bandoeng (now ITB), class of 1929 and graduate in 1933, is a national figure who played a key role in the nationalisation of the Indonesian Railway Company at the dawn of independence and later served as Minister of Transportation and then Prime Minister of the Republic of Indonesia. The collaboration continues the strong academic relationship between ITB and SWJTU through various programmes, including the China–Indonesia Joint Meeting on Science and Technology, student exchanges, joint research, and academic visits to Bandung and Chengdu in previous years. The Excellent Engineers College is expected to become a platform for developing future engineers with global capacity, innovation, and the ability to meet the challenges of building sustainable transport infrastructure. As one of China’s leading universities in railway and transport, SWJTU has a long history of developing modern transport technology. Through this collaboration, ITB reinforces its commitment as a leading and impactful university by expanding its international networks, driving technological innovation, and strengthening Indonesia’s contribution to the development of the global transport and infrastructure ecosystem. In the signing ceremony itself, present were Dean of FTMD ITB Hermawan Judawisastra; Deputy Dean Academic FTMD Pandji Prawisudha; and Programme Coordinator Yunendar Aryo Handoko.