NUFFIC -- road to academic excellence

After half a century of independence, Indonesia's urge to develop is stronger than ever. Education of the new generation is seen as the basis for the future as indeed it is.

To build this basis as broad as possible -- and in view of the era of globalization -- education should be internationalized, certainly at the postgraduate level. This was realized by the scientific community in Europe. Many universities and polytechnics of the European continent are now presenting their postgraduate studies partly in English in order to have a joint language and to share their knowledge with foreigners.

The Netherlands -- never one to pass up an opportunity -- has designed a whole international education system within their regular system. In this international education system, English is the sole conducting language. Special institutions have been set up in the Netherlands where foreign students are invited to follow short intensive courses, to study for their Master's degree or even to obtain a PhD.

The success of these international education institutes has been enormous. In the space of a short time, Dutch universities have added numerous studies in English to their regular programs. Polytechnic schools have followed suit. Polytechnic schools or high vocational schools in the Netherlands are academically almost the same level as universities, but they are focused on the practical side instead of on the research side of science. Both universities and high vocational institutions are now collaborating with counterpart institutions in other countries as part of their regular activities -- in both teaching and research.

In all, the Netherlands now offers almost 300 study programs in English, most of them at the postgraduate level. The fields of study include science and technology, agriculture, economics, business and management, law, health care, aerospace-survey and earth science, European studies, tourism and many more.

An interesting point is that these courses are designed to connect with the educational system of other countries, including Indonesia. A student who wants to follow the regular courses in English-speaking countries often has to lengthen his or her study period in order to catch up with the educational level over there. Not so in the Netherlands. The international education in the Netherlands is designed to make that connection right away. A student with an S1 degree here may enroll directly into a Master's program in the Netherlands and will return to Indonesia after approximately 18 months of study with a Master in his field of study.

Those who enroll, will be guaranteed with a Master's degree of a very solid quality. The educational level in the Netherlands is well known for its academic excellence.

There are several Dutch universities which are famous worldwide. Take for example the university of Delft with its specialty in technology, or the university of Leiden with its law programs and the university of Wageningen with Agriculture and Forestry.

These three universities have already strong relationships with Indonesian universities. Moreover there is a distinct interest from other Dutch educational institutions as well which would like to set up international linkages with Indonesia.

The Netherlands organization for international cooperation in higher education (NUFFIC) was founded in 1952 by a group of Dutch universities. NUFFIC aims to stimulate, support and improve the international exchange of people and ideas.

NUFFIC's branch office in Jakarta is already providing services such as planning and placing students, student monitoring, administration and payment, technical assistance and visiting Dutch scholars to develop research plans, to the Indonesian government through projects for the Ministry of Education and Culture and BPPT.

With its more than 40 years of experience, NUFFIC is in a position to build a bridge between the academic worlds in the Netherlands and Indonesia.

For further information please contact NUFFIC education counselors: Rosini Nimpoeno and Ade Ganie at Wisma Lippo 7th floor #703, Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto kav. 35-36, Jakarta 12950 Tel. (021) 5200702, 5200806, 5200202 ext. 2701/2704 Fax (021) 5200969.