UGM was chosen to host the Academic Consortium for the 21st Century (AC21) International Graduate School 2017. This event was entitled Community and Indigenous-based Technology for Sustainable Development towards Resilience Society and was held from 10 to 15 July 2017.
“We are proud to be trusted to host this important event. UGM has held various international events before, but this is special because it is the first time that AC21 has been held in Indonesia,” said UGM Rector, Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M.Eng., D.Eng, during the opening of the event on Tuesday (11/7) at UGM main office.
Panut said the security of Indonesian society is currently in danger because it is still vulnerable to various threats, both in the form of natural disasters, food and water crises, climate change, and other issues. Therefore, in the midst of these circumstances, he hopes this international forum can become one of the collaborative efforts to deal with those threats.
“These issues have to be solved collaboratively. Security can only be reached through a multi-national and multi-disciplinary approach,” said Panut.
The AC21 is a consortium which was established in 2002 as an international network that consists of educational and research organizations as well as industries from all over the world. This forum, which comprises 24 institutions, promotes cooperations on education and research among its members, including by conducting various events.
At this event, AC21 was raising five different educational components which are general lectures from experts and professionals, workshop, internship in the herbs health industry, community services, as well as excursion activity.
The Director of AC21, who is also the Vice President of Nagoya University Japan, Yoshihito Watanabe, expressed his appreciation of UGM which was not only willing to be the host of this event but also prepared a series of events that was able to encourage the learning activities for the participants.
“We express our acknowledgment of the UGM Rector and all parties who have worked hard to prepare this event,” said Watanabe.
He said that, through this programme, the participants are expected to gain understanding and capabilities to manifest their knowledge in practical solutions to challenges in daily life. Moreover, they are also expected to be able to implement the local-based technology in local industries while learning the local wisdom through the cultural excursion.
“Here, you will meet friends from various nations with different cultures. I hope you can learn from each other,” he added.