Universitas Gadjah Mada and the Central Kalimantan Provincial Government have forged cooperation in education, research, and community service.
At least 12 cooperation agreements were signed by department heads within the Central Kalimantan Provincial Government and Vice Deans from the UGM Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Forestry, Faculty of Animal Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, and Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing on Thursday (November 2).
The UGM Vice Rector for Education and Teaching, Professor Wening Udasmoro, and the Governor of Central Kalimantan, Sugianto Sabran, witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding.
Governor Sabran stated that his visit aimed to establish cooperation with UGM to strengthen the quality of human resources in potential specialist doctors, sub-specialist doctors, and nurses.
“We are determined to do this because Central Kalimantan is part of the Republic of Indonesia. We intend to change Central Kalimantan to be dignified, beautiful, and trustworthy,” said the governor.
“We want to build the education sector to be more dignified, using regional budget funds or personal funds in collaboration with entrepreneurs to strengthen human resources. Otherwise, we will not change.”
He mentioned that Central Kalimantan has an area of about 153 thousand hectares with a population of approximately 2.7 million.
Despite being the second-largest province after Papua, he believes Central Kalimantan does not yet have adequate facilities, such as an international airport and a sufficient seaport.
“Due to its vastness, we find it difficult to compete. We want to send our talented people to study at UGM,” he said.
In addition to sending young people to continue their studies at UGM, he encouraged accelerating the research translation programs for natural resource products in collaboration with UGM.
“Central Kalimantan is rich in forest products, and we want to build the raw materials and factories here. Our oil palm plantations cover 2.28 million hectares,” the governor added.
“We aim to become the largest CPO producer. We also have coal, bauxite, aluminum, and silica. This is why we need to build human resources and master technology.”
The UGM Vice Rector for Education and Teaching, Professor Wening Udasmoro, expressed appreciation for the cooperation between UGM and the Central Kalimantan Provincial Government, especially in strengthening the economy, technology, and healthcare.
“Technology is the pillar for how we can progress, including in animal science and fisheries, to prevent stunted growth,” Professor Udasmoro said.
During the occasion, the vice-rector also agreed with the governor’s strong determination to develop education, even if it meant personally allocating funds. According to her, what the governor is doing will strengthen the social capital of the community.
“Everything the governor mentioned aims to improve the quality of human resources,” she stated.
Professor Udasmoro said that UGM offers many programs to recruit young talents with strong academic abilities and come from economically disadvantaged families, enabling them to continue their education at UGM.
“We have a geographically-based affirmation project where students come from all over Indonesia. We work with many provinces that send undergraduate and postgraduate students,” she said.
Author: Gusti Grehenson