Universitas Bina Nusantara offers international program for

Universitas Bina Nusantara offers international program for bright students Jakarta is not Perth or Melbourne. But the capital of Indonesia has a linkage with the two Australian cities - at least, in the field of education, as developed by Universitas Bina Nusantara (UBiNus). The university is offering an international education in cooperation with Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Victoria. The cooperation is manifested in its International Undergraduate Program (IUP) that was opened in 2001. While lecturers from the two reputable foreign universities come to Jakarta to teach in classes, the students also get a chance to study there. A dual degree program is offered, allowing students to receive two degrees, one from Universitas Bina Nusantara and one from its partners. Another benefit of the program is the fact that students can save more than 50 percent in "investment" cost compared to study abroad to obtain the same Bachelor degree. Most parents are making every effort to provide their children with the best education. Some would send them overseas even though it might cost them a car, or a house. "Every year, about Rp 5 trillion goes out of the country to cover the expenses of Indonesian students who study abroad," Firdaus Alamsjah, the IUP director, said. IUP is open to cater the need of students who want to get quality international education at low prices. For example, the education cost in the 2004-2005 academic year for a new student is between Rp 44.5 million and Rp 50.5 million. There are four study programs offered at UBiNus: Accounting, Computer Science, Information Systems and Marketing. As all classes are conducted in English, the language mastery is a must. Students should have TOEFL score of 550 or better. If the score is between 500 and 549, they need to take Pre University English for 100 hours. Besides, the entrance test score should rank 2 or better, meaning that only bright students are accepted at IUP. IUP currently has 357 students with 96 percents of retention rate and the number of students in a class is limited to about 30. When it opened four years ago, IUP only offered Computer Science program with 56 students. Three more study programs were offered in the following year and the number of students rocketed by almost 100 percent to 110. In 2003, the number of students sharply increased to 210. "This year, we don't expect the number of student to double. We believe that growth has much to do with quality and we want to stay on the quality," Firdaus said. Eighty percents of the students are expected to finish their study in time and ninety percents of them get a job in less than a year after graduation. The students are mostly Indonesians but there are a few foreigners including those from Russia, Japan and the Netherlands. Some of the Indonesian students are those who used to study abroad, but decide to return to the country and continue their study here. "The majority of our students as well as the faculty members are males. We encourage the females to join us," Firdaus said with a smile. "But there will be no quota system as quality should come first," he quickly added. UBiNus has 15 lecturers with PhD degree and 49 with Master degrees from prominent overseas universities. Some are part timers. Each of them should have a minimum five-year working experience in reputable companies in Indonesia and abroad. UBiNus itself was established more than 20 years ago with more than 25,000 alumnae. It currently enrolls more than 24,000 students. As a matter of fact, UBiNus is not the only university in town which offers a dual degree program. There are also some other higher learning institutions claiming to have quality international education with the use of English in classes. So, why should one choose UBiNus? Besides its professional faculty members and quality education, the university has its own building, an impressive high-rising one located at the heart of the city, allowing it to have a strong industry linkage and network with many big companies. "We cooperate with them for internship program and company visits. We also have many guest lecturers and invite the CEOs to speak before the students," he said. The International Undergraduate Program campus is located at the Joseph Wibowo Center on Jl. Hang Lekir I, South Jakarta. The building with a 24-hour security system has a spacious parking space, a bookstore, libraries with more than 27,000 books, journals and magazines, a Jakarta Stock Exchange Corner and its Dealing Room, a business center and a canteen. Besides the modern facilities, free internet access is also available. What's more, the campus is only a walking distance from the posh shopping mall of Plaza Senayan. The strategic location, however, somehow tempts some students to hang around at the mall for hours and sometimes come late for class. "It may happen if the class starts right after the lunch time as students like to have lunch at the mall," Firdaus said. The lecturer teaches students to be discipline by ruling that if they are late more than 15 minutes, they are considered absent and those who are late more than 30 minutes are not allowed to attend the class. Students learn to change their mind set and respect more on the time and show more discipline. Besides, they also learn about team work through intensive discussions or project assignments as academic skills alone is not enough to enter the working place. (The end)