SGU offers modern campus life with a human touch

SGU offers modern campus life with a human touch

Technology plays an important role in Swiss German University's modern campus, which is going wireless soon.

With the implementation of a fully wireless campus in August 2005, all students and lecturers will have their own computer that can be operated via a wireless connection.

Swiss German University (SG), located in Bumi Serpong Damai, West Java, has signed an agreement with Hewlett-Packard Indonesia to provide students and lecturers with a computer at a good price.

Under the cooperation agreement, new bachelor's degree students will have the opportunity to buy a brand new HP tablet PC that normally costs about Rp 25 million for just Rp 16 million. In addition, the university will then reduce the student's tuition fee by Rp 1 million per semester (for a maximum of eight semesters) during their study at SGU.

For example, instead of paying the tuition fee of Rp 22 million for the first semester, the student who buys the notebook will only have to pay Rp 21 million.

There is no question about the importance of technology on the campus. However, putting too much weight on technology alone without realizing that there are other things that are deemed more important for the development of the students could be dangerous, the university's rector, Prof. Dr. Peter Pscheid, says.

Technology is important, but human interaction is more important. Without sufficient human interaction, anyone who relies too much on technology could be isolated from others.

"Therefore, students should sit together, discuss things with one another, and eat together in a nice environment," Dr. Pscheid says. To promote the social life within the campus life, students are encouraged to take part not only in serious discussions on various topics but also in extracurricular activities like dancing and music.

SGU is a government and privately sponsored university for the ASEAN region and is run by the Swiss German University-Asia Foundation, headed by the German Ambassador to Indonesia.

SGU was established in 2000 as a joint effort between Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Indonesia. It aims to develop skilled professionals to fulfill the need for qualified graduates to strengthen links between Asia and Europe.

It offers courses in Mechatronics (Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Information Technology), Information Technology (General IT and Business IT, Multi Media/Inter Media), Business Administration (Banking/Insurance/Auditing), Hotel and Tourism Management and Life Sciences (Pharmaceutical Engineering, Food Technology and Biomedical Engineering). This last faculty was opened just last year.

The campus has a chemical laboratory and a sophisticated environmental laboratory, which fulfill European safety and security standards.

Referring to the environmental laboratory that has a value of about 1 million Euro, Dr. Pscheid says; "It's officially a contribution from Germany."

Equipment for the laboratory was shipped from Germany to ensure quality. SGU, however, also had to work hard, struggling with red tape and bureaucracy, to ensure that all of the sophisticated instruments arrived safely at the campus.

All courses, except German and Mandarin, at SGU are delivered in English. Classes have an average of about 20 students, allowing extensive interaction between the students and the lecturer. This also provides an opportunity for the students to receive individual attention from the lecturer.

There are about 700 students studying on the campus, which is strictly smoke, alcohol and drug free. Most students come from various parts of the country, especially Jakarta, Medan, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Bandung and Palembang. The others are foreigners from Europe and countries like China, Algeria and India.

SGU combines theoretical and practical training (in a special internship program). The programs and degrees are internationally recognized and the students get a double degree from Germany and Indonesia. "Currently there are 85 students who are in Germany for an internship," says Dr. Pscheid, who recently received an award from the German president for his dedication to Indonesian - German relations.

Next year, SGU will send some students of Hotel and Tourism Management to Switzerland. Starting this year, scholarships are available for new students with outstanding final exam results at Senior High School (SMA). They will be charged only half of the tuition fee.

The tuition fee per academic semester (semesters one, two, four, five, seven and eight) is Rp 22 million while the fee during the internship semesters (semesters three and six) is Rp 11 million. The fee includes the laboratories, examination and excursion programs.

SGU also offers a Master's Degree Program in Business Administration, Business Engineering, Business Informatics and a PhD Program that is conducted jointly with Technischen Universitaet Ilmenau in Germany. It also offers executive seminars in various areas, such as strategic management, "new corporate governance" provided by visiting professors from Europe.