Distance is no longer an obstacle in reaching science. This was proven by the holding of a video conference by the Faculty of Psychology, UGM, Thursday, October 15. This time Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), United States, were the conference partners. Kwartarini WY, MMed.Sc., Ph.D., speaker from UGM, presented "Globalization: Is it moving toward or away from the nation's identity?" discussion and Dawn Michele Whitehead from IUPUI presented "Impact of globalization on education in the state of Indiana".
The video conference which was located in Building 100 Faculty of Psychology started at 19.00 hours West Indonesian Time or 08.00 AM in the U.S and ended at 20:30 local time. The lecture was attended by 57 undergraduate students, mostly students of cross-cultural psychology class. Beside the presentation, a dialogue between UGM students and IUPUI students was also held. UGM students enthusiastically had the dialogue with their American counterparts.
The event was very useful to increase the knowledge, especially in understanding the Indonesian student conditions (UGM). Students obtained insights difficult to get from a text book. A student who participated in this conference commented, "Americans are also thoughtful and study the cultures and languages of others. I had not thought about this before." This model will also help students to boost self-confidence in science and English.
This video conference was well appreciated by the Faculty of Psychology of UGM and supported by the Dean of this Faculty. Drs. Helly Prajitno Soetjipto, MA, Vice Dean III, and some other lecturers also attended this event.