YOGYAKARTA- U.S Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Judith A. McHale, on Friday (3/12) spoke about entrepreneurship education at UGM Senate Hall via video conference. Ms. McHale was accompanied by U.S Ambassador to Indonesia, Scot Marciel, Vice Minister of National Education, Prof.Dr. Fasli Jalal, and UGM Rector, Prof. Ir. Sudjarwadi, M. Eng., Ph.D. The event was moderated by Executive Secretary of UGM, Drs. Djoko Moerdiyanto, M.A. This videoconference also involved several other universities, such as the Open University, Andalas University, University of Lampung, University of Bengkulu, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bogor Institute of Agriculture, and Indonesian Art Institute of Denpasar.
UGM Rector, Prof. Ir. Sudjarwadi, M. Eng., Ph.D., said the U.S and Indonesian relations have long been established. Cooperation in education can be developed more by increasing the number of exchange students to study in the two countries. The Rector mentioned that Universitas Gadjah Mada currently has approximately 50 thousand students.
The Rector also briefly mentioned in the next few days there will be the World Conference on Science, Education, and Culture (WISDOM 2010), 5-8 December 2010. Many experts in various fields of sciences are scheduled to exchange ideas. "I hope the cooperation in education, such as increasing students exchange continues to be improved," said Rector.
He added that the eruption of Mount Merapi as the most active volcano in the world made UGM learn new knowledge so that it develops the intention to make progress for the betterment of the society. "At the same time, we are trying to develop entrepreneurship out of this volcanic activity," he added.
In the same place, Fasli Jalal said the video conference was a follow up to the commitment of the Government of Indonesia and the U.S. in several fields, such as, education, social affairs and the environment. "Particularly in education, the U.S. government has earmarked some 165 million dollars to help the development of education in Indonesia. It can be used to improve education in Indonesia as well as the sending of our experts and students to the US," said Fasli.
Indonesia and the U.S have enjoyed good relationship in education during the 1980s. At that time, the number of Indonesian students studying in the U.S. was about 15 thousand while today there is only about seven thousand students. "There is a shift from the U.S to Europe, Australia and Asia (such as Japan). Therefore, the momentum after the visit of President Obama's recently could be made an opportunity for us," Fasli said.
Fasli also hoped the cooperation between both parties continue to be improved through exchange student, research, journals, and scholarship. Particularly about entrepreneurship education, according to Fasli, currently it is enhanced and facilitated, especially that up to now learning in schools has created more bureaucrats, not entrepreneurs.
On the other hand, the U.S Ambassador to Indonesia, Scot Marciel, in the forum said that the United States continues its efforts to make Indonesia as a prosperous country so cooperation with many stakeholders, particularly universities, becomes a priority. "The number of students and professors who study in both countries will be increased from time to time," said the Ambassador.
He added that Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP) in Indonesia is currently being designed by the U.S and will be chaired by Indonesian businessmen. GEP will provide training opportunities to develop learning systems, including cooperation with university.
Ms. Judith A. McHale said learning entrepreneurship since childhood is very important. In the U.S, entrepreneurship is high. In fact, in some universities, there are specific training available. "The role of government in this case is very big, for example, on regulations concerning intellectual property rights," said McHale.
Ms. McHale, former General Council for MTV Networks and Discovery Communications President, pointed out some things that make MTV and Discovery Channel big, which are their employees' intention to provide a quality program. "At that time, we avoided distractions and focused on what we care about and every employee felt that they were bound by what we were doing. In addition, we developed a very strong partnership with clients, built relationships around the world, had ideas and strong desires," she said.