Faculty of Forestry Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) inaugurated the new building of graduate program, Monday (7/3). The inauguration was conducted by Dean of the Faculty of Forestry UGM, Prof. Dr. Mochammad Na’im, M. Agr., at the Faculty, attended by a number of invited guests. In addition to the Vice Rector of Alumni and Business Development of UGM, Prof. Ir. Atyanto Dharoko, M. Phil., Ph.D., it was also attended by Secretary-General of the Ministry of Forestry, Hadi Daryanto, and General Chairman of Eka Tjpta Foundation (ETF), G. Sulistiyanto.
Representing the Rector, Prof. Atyanto expressed his thanks for the concern of Eka Tjipta Foundation in the field of education. With the new building, Faculty of Forestry UGM is expected to improve the quality of graduates. "A good university has four benchmarks that show that it is qualified. In addition to having qualified programs, this university certainly has strong human resources, financial accountability, and adequate infrastructure," he said.
A qualified program is indicatesd by good educational programs, teaching systems, and evaluation, as well as research and community service. "I believe Faculty of Forestry UGM has it all as capital to achieve international level," he added.
In the field of human resources, the size of qualified higher education is seen from the number of doctors and masters. It also has accountability in the financial sector and a number of adequate infrastructures. "Although not yet perfect , I believe Faculty of Forestry UGM is going towards transparent financial system," he said.
G. Sulistiyanto, said the new building is one form of realization of cooperation. ETF also routinely provides scholarships to about 30 students of the S-1 program of UGM every year.
According to G. Sulistiyanto, ETF has disbursed scholarships to 2,000 students at 25 universities in Indonesia since 2007. Under the theme Tjipta’s Graduates Establish Village, this scholarship is given to all disciplines in the hope that the recipients will return to the village after graduating. "We hope they will re-build the village. Therefore, we will conduct an evaluation in 2011; if the program is effective, it will be increased," he explained.
ETF also had an opportunity to hold a bazaar as a CSR program of Sinar Mas by selling cheap cooking oil in 1-liter packages. In this bazaar, PT Sinar Mas allocates 5,000 liters at 8,500 rupiah per liter for poor society.