SGU aims to transfer high technology
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As the first international university in the country, the Swiss German University (SGU) was established with a mission: to transfer high technology from these developed countries to Indonesian in order to boost its economy.
Unlike other private universities, it's not all about profit at SGU.
"We have to make profits, indeed, but they will be used for reinvestment in the university," rector Peter Pscheid told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
He explained that members of the university's boards of founders and governors are honorary, and do not receive any payment nor do they have any hand in the university's finances.
Among members of boards of founders and governors are diplomats from Germany, Switzerland, Australia, as well as CEOs of companies from involved countries like PT Schenker Petrolog Utama, PT Rio Tinto Indonesia, PT KN Sigma Trans, PT Anilitika Sejahtera Lingkungan, PT Alianz Utama, PT Siemens Indonesia and PT Nestle Indonesia.
Established in 2000 at its campus in Bumi Serpong Damai housing estate in Tangerang, the university started with only 32 students.
The university now has over 800 students in bachelor's and master's programs.
Pscheid said SGU offered courses that combined both theory and internship, and all programs were internationally recognized.
"SGU conforms to European standards, therefore students do not need to leave their countries and families for years to receive a prestigious degree," he said, adding that 20 percent of SGU professors are expatriates.
He said the benefit of students studying in their home country was that parents could keep a close watch on them. "Fresh graduates from senior high schools who are aged around 18 are too young to live alone in other countries," he added.
Pscheid said the government needed to encourage Indonesian universities to invite as many as possible qualified professors from overseas so that they would be able to compete with other world-class universities.
"The government must facilitate the presence of qualified professors to give lectures in the local universities. It will curb Indonesian parents from sending their children aboard to study," he added.
There are five departments in SGU -- engineering, information technology, business administration, life sciences, and social sciences.
For majors, students can pick either mechatronics engineering, business engineering, information and communication technology, software engineering, business computing, business administration, hotel and tourist management, pharmaceutical engineering, food technology or biomedical engineering.
Before finishing studies, students are required to work as apprentices in Germany for at least six months.
The tuition fees are Rp 22 million (US$2,186) per semester. But during the internship semester, the tuition fees are halved to Rp 11 million.
According to deputy rector Ketut Tejawibawa, high discipline is required at SGU. The discipline is not only for the students, but also for lecturers.