As many as 11 Higher Education Institutes in Indonesia are expected to be World Class University, namely UGM, UI, ITB, Diponegoro University, IPB, Airlangga University, ITS, UNHAS, USU, UPI and Padjadjaran University. Even so, until 2019 Research and Higher Education Ministry at least targets 5 colleges to have entered the category of world class university, one of which is UGM. "At least we can be one of the best 500 universities in the world," said Ir. Hari Purwanto, M.Sc., DIC, Ministry Expert Staff of Infrastructure, Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, to the reporters after attending an international symposium on Higher Education Management and Leadership organized by UGM and USAID in the Senate Hall of UGM, Tuesday (26/7).
Hari added that although the government is targeting five colleges to enter 500 best universities of the world rankings, all eleven universities are encouraged to accelerate the improvement of management and leadership. "Leadership and management are the main prerequisite to the world-class university," Hari said.
According to Hari, not only improving the management that has to be done but also the quality of infrastructure, research, and teaching. If successful, the eleven universities will become a reference in development model for other universities in Indonesia. "The eleven state universities will be a model and reference to other universities," he said.
Government represented by the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education, according to Hari, not only provides the financial aspect, but also provides mentoring and coaching. Some of the things that need to be developed include the number of international publications, number of patents findings, and number of lecturers with Ph.D degree. "Besides, they should be able to attract students from other countries to learn and provide job opportunities for the graduates," he said.
Chairman of the Master School of Higher Education Management, Prof. Dr. Sahid Susanto, MS, said one of the challenges of Indonesian universities in the era of the Asean Economic Community is to undertake harmonization and synergy in strengthening and improving the quality of learning. "We can’t let negative competition to emerge,'' he said.
Alexander Mc Cornick, Ph.D., faculty member of Indiana University, United States, said that several universities in Indonesia have adopted a model of American higher education. However, improvement in the quality of education and teaching can be done through an evaluation on an ongoing basis. "So it will be able to assess and oversee the activities that have been carried out carefully," he said.