Swiss University to be opened here

Swiss University to be opened here

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Education and Culture has given
a green light to the Swiss University of Applied Sciences to
conduct an S1 degree program in Indonesia using an
internationally recognized teaching system.

A letter of academic accreditation was handed over on Friday
by Tresna Derwaman Kunaefi, the ministry's coordinator of private
universities, to P. Pscheid, rector of the St. Gallen Institute
of Technology in Switzerland.

The handover of the accreditation, based on a letter of intent
dated Sept. 16, 1997, between the Indonesian government and the
government of the Swiss Confederation, was conducted in a
ceremony at the German Center at the Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD)
housing complex in Tangerang.

The joint university, which will be located at BSD, is
expecting government and private sector support from Switzerland,
Germany and Indonesia, J. Kamm, deputy chairman of the board of
management of Swiss ATI foundation, said in a statement on
Saturday.

"For Switzerland this will be the first university abroad and
for Indonesia it will be a pilot project. The teaching medium
will be mainly English and this will attract Indonesian students
and students from other countries as well," he said.

The ministry's director for private universities, Joetata
Hadihardaja, who was also present at the ceremony, said the
government hopes the operation of the Swiss university in
Indonesia can commence soon.

Joetata said he expected that graduates from the university
could directly work in their respective fields in the future.

Besides the S1 program, preparations are currently being made
for the S2 (MBA and MSc) programs.

The university, which in its first years will occupy German
Center premises, is expected to start operating in 2000. (jun)