Ministry Declares Climate and Disaster Response Consortium for Central Sulawesi Universities

Palu (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Wamendiktisaintek) Fauzan has declared the Climate and Disaster Response Consortium of Public Universities (PTN) and Private Universities (PTS) across Central Sulawesi in Palu City. He stated that the formation of the consortium aims to strengthen inter-campus collaboration in research, community service, and disaster education, in order to increase the tangible impact of higher education on society. “With this consortium, natural mentoring is expected to occur. Later, joint research, collaboration, and collaborative community service will take place, so that the impact can be felt more greatly by the community,” said Wamendiktisaintek Fauzan at the declaration in the Faculty of Medicine Auditorium at Tadulako University (Untad), Palu, on Monday. Wamen Fauzan explained that the consortium serves as a platform for universities to combine resources, facilities, and expertise without eliminating the independence of each institution. “So the larger ones provide benefits to the smaller ones. The smaller ones can learn from the larger ones. In addition, there can be research collaboration and community service,” said Wamendiktisaintek Fauzan. He explained that the success of the consortium requires support from local governments, both at the provincial and district/city levels, including community participation as the target of the programmes. Meanwhile, Central Sulawesi Deputy Governor Reny Lamadjido assessed that the formation of the consortium could strengthen the role of universities in disaster mitigation and management. Additionally, Untad Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Prof Rusdin stated that inter-university collaboration is needed to face multidimensional challenges, such as climate change, natural disasters, and the sustainable use of natural resources. “These challenges cannot be solved by one university independently, thus requiring cooperation with other universities, the government, the business world, and industry,” said Prof Rusdin.