Ministry of Higher Education opens opportunities to strengthen research partnership with Germany
Indonesia’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) is opening opportunities to strengthen the Indonesia-Germany strategic partnership in higher education, research and skilled workforce development.
This was conveyed by Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Brian Yuliarto when receiving a courtesy visit from German Ambassador to Indonesia Ralf Beste at the Kemdiktisaintek offices on Wednesday, 18 February.
“We share a long history together. We hope this cooperation can continue, including the sending of Indonesian students to Germany. Currently, interest among Indonesian students in pursuing international programmes in Germany continues to grow,” the Minister said in a statement released in Jakarta on Friday.
Minister Brian noted that Indonesia and Germany have an exceptionally strong and longstanding cooperation, particularly in the fields of higher education and research.
He also encouraged enhanced collaboration between higher education institutions, such as joint degree or double degree programmes.
Minister Brian further called for an expansion of doctoral programmes, joint research funding and academic exchanges to support national priority programmes encompassing food security, renewable energy, clean water, industrial downstreaming, digitalisation and national defence.
In response, Ambassador Beste affirmed that strengthening educational cooperation and student exchanges is a key priority of the German Embassy in Jakarta.
He also mentioned plans for a visit by the President of DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), the German Academic Exchange Service, who also serves as Rector of the University of Cologne. The visit could be utilised as a discussion forum with Indonesian university rectors to reinforce institutional cooperation.
“We regard this as one of our principal tasks at the embassy — for the science attaché, the cultural attaché, and certainly for myself — to increase student exchanges,” said Beste.