YOGYAKARTA-Universities in the UK once again reinforce their cooperation with universities in Indonesia. It is marked with the presence of the program from the British Council, the UK Higher Education Mission and Policy Dialogue, from 8-9 March 2011, in Jakarta and several other cities in Indonesia. From the 26 delegations of British Universities, two delegations took a visit to UGM to socialize their program. Both are Prof. Paul Webley (Director and Principal of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) and Prof. Alex Hughes (Pro Vice-Chancellor of University of Kent in the Registry Canterbury UK).
According to the Head of UGM International Affairs Office, Dr.Eng. R. Rachmat A. Sriwijaya, S.T, M.T, in marketing the 26 universities in England, they cooperate with UI, ITB and UGM to invite other local universities. "For example, UGM invited several universities in Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java, such as UII, Atmajaya, ISI, Diponegoro University, Sanata Dharma, Airlangga University, and Udayana," Rachmat said on Wednesday (9/3), on the sidelines of the presentation in LPPM Conference Room. The event was hosted by the UGM Executive Secretary, Drs. Djoko Moerdiyanto, M.A. In addition to representatives of Universities, the event was also attended by several deans at UGM.
Rachmat said that the cooperation, among others, related to the research and development of advanced studies for students and lecturers. For UGM, the cooperation actually has been made with almost all universities in the UK. Thus, the activity became a kind of re-introduction of cooperation to UGM. “A lot of our alumni also graduated from England. So, actually, this is not something new because we already have agreements with almost all universities in the UK," he said.
Nevertheless, Rachmat admitted that some problems were still found in the cooperation, such as exchange and scholarship program. During this time, universities in Indonesia have sent many students and lecturers to the UK, but on the otherhand, not many students are sent from Britain to Indonesia. "Sometimes it is hard to get a Letter of Acceptance for the continuation of schools and scholarships," said Rachmat.