Jakarta Post
Jakarta Post
Respect at Swiss German University
Respect is an important factor in the Swiss German University, one of the best institutes of learning in the country.
"All of the lecturers and the students should respect each other. This is one of the requirements that we seek, to enable them to teach the students well and give them enough attention," university rector Peter Pscheid said.
It was Prof. Pscheid's respect for Indonesia that gave birth to the university, which was built here during the peak of the economic crisis in the late 1990s.
SGU, a government and privately sponsored university for the ASEAN region, is located not in Singapore or Malaysia, but in the German Centre in Bumi Serpong Damai, West Java, about half an hour's drive from Jakarta.
The foundation (Yayasan Swiss German University-Asia), which was established in the year 2000, is a joint effort between Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Indonesia. The university, which began operating in 2000, was set up with a long-term commitment in Indonesia to develop skilled professionals to fulfil the need for qualified graduates to strengthen links between Asia and Europe.
Last weekend (Sept.27) SGU inaugurated 25 students who had successfully completed their Master's Degree program after studying for two years.
SGU offers programs in mechatronics, information technology, business administration and hotel and tourism management. In addition, it also has the Studienkolleg program, or preparation for German University Entrance Tests. The programs and degrees are internationally recognized and students are awarded double degrees.
Modern facilities, such as high-tech laboratories and access to videoconferencing, are available. By the end of the year, SGU is scheduled to start building its laser-welding facility, which will be the first of its kind in the country.
All classes for the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs, except Indonesian law, are taught in English. German and Mandarin are offered as extracurricular activities, while business Arabic will also be taught in the near future.
About 500 students, including a few international students, are currently studying at SGU, which also offers a PhD program in cooperation with Technical University Ilmenau in Germany.
The tuition fee is US$2,200 per semester, but those with the best semester results in each faculty are eligible for a scholarship for one semester, thanks to the Swiss government, German industry and SGU.
What makes SGU different from other universities is its internship program, as it offers courses that combine both theoretical and practical training. Third-semester bachelor's students have to take an internship here in Jakarta or West Java, and those in the sixth semester do their training in Germany, where -- in a way -- they become "ambassadors" for Indonesia.
The internship program has brought benefits, not only for students, but also employers. "In one case, a company in Germany was so impressed with a student that it plans to open an office in Indonesia and has requested the student to manage it after finishing studies at SGU", said the rector.
"After eight semesters of studying here, students should have a job," Pscheid said. "We motivate them to start their own business, to become small- or medium-sized entrepreneurs."
The internship program also aims to introduce students to the real world of work and to learn about social behaviour. This is important, particularly as most students are from middle-income families, and might have been pampered.
The university emphasizes that students should be self- disciplined and reprimands those who come late or are lazy. Consequently, students learn not only academic skills, but also ethics and, more importantly, to develop their intellect and speak their mind. And of course, they also learn about critical thinking, essential for any decision maker.
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File: The Jakarta Post/ by: IK/30-09-03