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)