Uniprep: The best pathway to an international education
Uniprep: The best pathway to an international education
Australia creates a lot of interest among Indonesian students
wishing to continue with their higher education overseas. In the
land of the kangaroo, the number of students from Indonesia is
rapidly increasing year by year. And from the large number of
higher-education institutions in Australia, The University of New
South Wales (UNSW) is the first choice for most.
Since Uniprep was established in Jakarta in 1994, over 360
students have graduated, with 82 percent meeting Australian
university entry requirements.
Run by private university UniSadhuGuna in Jakarta, in
partnership with The University of New South Wales, Uniprep
conducts an identical university foundation program to that of
University Foundation Year (UFY) in Sydney. All the lecturers are
experienced Australian or British teachers with international
qualifications, and the program is monitored and assessed by UNSW
with all examinations set and marked in Sydney.
Uniprep Director John Olney said, "Indonesian and
international students are receiving the same high quality
university preparation as they would receive in Australia.
Furthermore, the teaching style at Uniprep encourages students to
think critically and develop self-discipline, skills they will
need when studying at university level overseas."
Uniprep has four streams of study -- Commerce, Arts, Design
and Science -- leading to any Australian university course. "We
are the only foundation course in Jakarta offering this diversity
of course choice," Olney pointed out. The most popular university
choice upon leaving Uniprep is the prestigious UNSW. However,
Uniprep students have also been accepted into 17 other Australian
universities, including Monash and Melbourne universities.
In 1999, Uniprep launched the first university-preparation
Design stream in Jakarta, with all nine students in the group
gaining places in the best Design faculties in Australia at UNSW,
Monash and RMIT, taking courses in Media and Communications,
Multimedia, Design and Electronic Publishing.
The majority of students coming into Uniprep are from third
year of Indonesian Senior High School (SMU). It is expected that
over 80 students will enroll in June this year. This Uniprep
intake offers a six-month time saving compared to taking
foundation in Australia. "Students can enter Uniprep as soon as
they finish senior high school in June, and they are then ready
to start university in Australia in February 2001. If they went
to Sydney or Melbourne to do Foundation Studies they would start
university one semester later," Olney said. Uniprep also has a
regular September intake for SMU students, where they will follow
the same timetable as in Sydney, finishing in time to enter
university in July 2001.
Uniprep also conducts a special intensive fast-track course
for students who have taken "O" levels or Year 11 in Singapore,
Malaysia or Australia. "This year's intake, which started in
January, gives students the opportunity to enter university six
months earlier than their peers," said Olney.
Another intensive course is scheduled to begin in the second
week of December 2000. The course will finish in early June next
year, enabling students to enroll in university in Australia in
July 2001.
Besides offering a quality university preparation program that
enables students to fast track their entry into the best overseas
universities, Uniprep has another big advantage. Students
continue to live at home in Jakarta for the duration of the
Uniprep program, which means a saving on expensive overseas
living costs.
Uniprep students also benefit from smaller class sizes. "The
courses are the same as those in Australia, but there is more
personalized attention here," Olney said.
Uniprep now has over 70 alumni who have completed their first
degree. Some are continuing with Honors or Masters degrees. These
alumni also praise the program for preparing them for the
challenges of university life. "Uniprep was a big help," said one
graduate now completing a Commerce degree at UNSW. "While many
foreign students feel confused when they start their university
course, Uniprep has taught us how to listen and take notes in
lectures and how to make good use of tutorials and to approach
tutors and lecturers for assistance."
For further information about Uniprep, please contact Ms.
Surya, Susy or Coni at telephone 2524068, fax 2524058, or e-mail
uniprep@vision.net.id. Otherwise, visit the Uniprep premises and
view our up-to-date facilities, including a modern computer
laboratory with full Internet access. Uniprep is located at S.
Widjojo Center, Mezzanine Floor, Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Kav. 71,
Jakarta Selatan.