Depok, September 4th 2023. Universitas Indonesia (UI) continues to strengthen collaborations with global parties, one of which is Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School (Tsinghua SIGS). To discuss potential collaborations that might be developed, representatives from UI and Tsinghua SIGS held a meeting on Friday (25/8), in Meeting Room A, Floor 2, University Administration Center Building, UI Depok Campus.
At the meeting, Secretary of the UI University, dr. Agustin Kusumayati, M.Sc., Ph.D., stated that UI is open to increasing collaboration with many foreign universities, including Tsinghua SIGS. She said, “Currently, UI has a number of scientific disciplines which are covered in three scientific groups, namely science-technology, social-legal sciences, and health sciences. UI also opens international classes for several study programs. We hope that this inter-campus collaboration will be realized in a concrete way and will be truly beneficial for the development of academic programs in the future.”
Meanwhile, Tsinghua SIGS also sees the importance of international collaboration as a bridge for wider connections. Secretary of the Party Committee SIGS, WU Xiaofeng, said that during its founding period, SIGS had achieved many achievements, ranking 17th in the world or number one in Asia according to Times Higher Education. With this achievement, he hopes that collaboration between Tsinghua SIGS and UI can be carried out in the near future.
“We see the potential for collaboration with UI because Tsinghua University also has master’s degree and doctoral programs in the fields of engineering, environmental, and science. “Currently, Tsinghua is collaborating with several world-leading companies, such as Huawei, Tencent, and China Southern Power Grid, thereby supporting the process of scientific development,” said WU Xiaofeng.
It is planned that UI and Tsinghua SIGS will collaborate in the same field for international programs and undergraduate degrees. Cooperation is also carried out by holding a fast track program. For larger collaborative programs, further evaluation is needed regarding similarities in curricula, learning programs, and so on. Therefore, collaboration can start with a simple academic program first, such as holding summer courses and guest lecturers that are open to international students.
Opportunities for such cooperation can also be extended to research programs. Representative from the Academic and Publication Research Unit, School of Strategic and Global Studies (SKSG) UI, Dr. Phil in Eng. Irene Sondang Fitrinitia, considered that opportunities for collaboration between the two institutions must be maximized with a scientific research agenda, especially related to the use of technology.
In accordance with the ideals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UI is currently focusing on efforts to conduct impactful research that involves many parties, including industry partners and the community. The research covers the topics of green energy transition, digital transformation, and improving world health. UI hopes that in the future, Tsinghua SIGS can collaborate in these three areas of research.
Seeing this, WU Xiaofeng believes that UI and Tsinghua SIGS have the same vision. Tsinghua SIGS continues to strengthen collaboration between industry, academics and researchers to ensure that the research conducted produces products and services that benefit society. By developing a systematic technology transfer infrastructure, Tsinghua SIGS contributes technology and human resources to drive local economic development and respond to the rapidly changing needs of new industries.
Therefore, it is hoped that the collaboration that will be established between UI and Tsinghua SIGS will not only focus on the field of education, but also research that will have an impact on the international community. Collaboration can be developed in the form of student exchanges, international research, and international conferences.
The discussion on the potential for collaboration between the two institutions was also attended by UI representatives, including the Director of SKSG, Athor Subroto, S.E., M.M., M.Sc., Ph.D.; Head of the International Office, drg. Baiduri Widanarko, M.KKK, Ph.D .; along with management. The representatives from Tsinghua SIGS consisted of the Director Office of Campus Management and Services, GAO Chaoyang; Deputy Director, Office of Student Affairs, ZHAN Duoyan; Deputy Director, Office of Academic Affairs, YANG Gedan; Director, Office of Global Affairs, MA Zhenyi; Director, Office of Communications and Outreach, CHEN Chaoqun; Director, Office of Campus Construction and Maintenance, ZHANG Lin; along with the team.
