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)