The Rector of UGM, Prof. Ir. Dwikorita Karnawati, M.Sc., Ph.D, received Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Sciences, Jet Bussemaker, and Dutch Ambassador, Rob Swartbol, on Tuesday (14/2) at UGM Main Office. The parties discussed opportunities for cooperation in the future.
“We wish to know about UGM’s areas of interest and we can both increase the collaboration,” said Minister Bussemaker.
Presently, UGM has established collaborations at the faculty and university level with Dutch universities. The Minister wants this to increase in the future through strategic programmes that have been agreed on. She invited UGM to send students and lecturers to study in the Netherlands for graduate and doctoral level as well as exchange and joint research.
“We want to have more international students to create an international atmosphere there. This will also stimulate the learning curriculum at our universities,” she said.
On areas for collaboration, the Minister offered strategic research of an excellent standard by Dutch universities, in such fields as agriculture, medicine, public health, and technolgy. Interest was also shown in cooperation with vocational education which is one important issue for the Dutch Education Ministry. Attention to different education levels, in her view, was needed to boost the progress of the state.
“We not only need fundamental research, but also people who can apply it. So, we need vocational graduates who are highly qualified,” she said.
This was welcomed by the Rector of UGM and Dean of UGM Vocational School who later offered possible cooperation schemes, for example, double degree programmes and certication for vocational graduates. The Rector added that the cooperation would boost the development of vocational education at UGM, including building relations with industry.
“This is an important issue. Now we’re in the process of building an education industry that will integrate undergraduate and vocational education,” she said.
Other areas of study that were discussed in the meeting included medicine, engineering, cultural sciences and history.