The UI Faculty of Engineering was selected to be the host of the New Colombo Plan (NCP) collaboration program under the auspices of the collaboration between the Universitas Indonesia (UI) and the University of Queensland (UQ) which has been established for more than 10 years. With the theme ‘Engineering closer ties to Indonesia’: Exploring Chemical Engineering in Indonesia’, a series of NCP programs are being held from 28 January to 12 February 2023. As many as 40 students from the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture, and Information Technology University of Queensland (EAIT-UQ) are involved as participants in this program.
The New Colombo Plan is a flagship program of the Australian Government, which offers prestigious scholarships and grants to young Australian scholars – one of which is the University of Queensland – to have the opportunity to live, study and undertake internships/training in the Indo-Pacific region. While in Indonesia, these students can broaden relationships and friendships, deepen Australian relations in the region, and ensure that there will be an Australian workforce in the region in the future.
The opening of the NCP program was held on January 30, 2023. In his opening remarks, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng. as the Dean of the UI Faculty of Engineering expressed his hopes regarding the NCP program, “Even though the duration of this program only lasts for two weeks, with the implementation of various activities within the Universitas Indonesia and outside the University such as industrial visits, cultural and language training, we hope this program can add experience and insight from a different perspective for students. We hope that the cooperation that has been established will continue to provide many benefits for both countries, Indonesia and Australia.”
“This program is an excellent opportunity for our students to learn new things from a different culture. The experience that our students will get is an experience that I wish I could get when I was still a student. Like the theme presented, namely engineering closer ties to Indonesia, this program was created to strengthen relations between Australia – Indonesia, and the 40 students who attended this opportunity will become agents of change in this process,” said Prof. Justin Cooper-White as Head of School of Chemical Engineering UQ.
The first week’s activities began with a tour of the Universitas Indonesia, academic talks, laboratory visits to the Department of Chemical Engineering and i-CELL FTUI, research projects, and case studies. Academic talk activities were carried out for 3 days with Dr. Ir. Dijan Supramono, M.Sc., Habiburrahman, S.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., and Prof. Ir. Kamarza Mulia, M.Sc., Ph.D. with a different topic every day in the GK building’s Smart Classroom. In case study activities and research projects, UQ students are divided into several small groups along with several students from the Department of Chemical Engineering FTUI.
“In the second week, the activities focused on visits to several FTUI partner industrial areas, including PT Pertamina Gas Negara (PGN), PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART), and PT Tata Metal Lestari,” explained Prof. Dr. Ir. Harinaldi, M.Eng. as the Head of the FTUI Education Modernization and Internationalization Unit.
During an industrial visit to PT PGN, students were given insight into the history and information about PT PGN, which is a state-owned company engaged in the natural gas sector. The students were also introduced to the MCS building and the Red Zone located at the PGN Bojonegara branch, Serang, Banten. The industrial visit on the following day was held at PT SMART which is located in North Jakarta. PT SMART is one of the leading companies in Indonesia that publicly lists palm-based consumer products. The industrial visit ended on the third day with a trip to one of the green industries in the Bekasi area, namely PT Tata Metal Lestari. During this visit, the students were divided into 4 groups to tour the factory and get a lot of material about the zinc-aluminum coated steel industry.
On the same occasion, Dr. Bambang Heru Susanto, ST., MT as head of the FTUI Chemical Engineering Department conveyed the expected output from industrial visit activities, “Hopefully these students from the University of Queensland know that in Indonesia there are strategic industries that they can learn from and can make them one of the choices of places for internships or internships later because Indonesia is open to internships from foreign students whose universities we have cooperation with.”
In addition to academic activities, students also take part in training activities related to Indonesian culture and language, including contemporary dance, canting batik, wayang plaiting from cassava stems, planting rice, making pottery, and performing several typical Indonesian instruments. On certain days, students also visit several cultural attractions such as Monas, Museums, and the Old Town.
The closing of the NCP Program will take place on January 10, 2023, at Damar Langit Resort, Cisarua, Bogor. In this event, UQ students presented the results of the academic activities that had been carried out. Apart from that, the students also performed a contemporary dance that they had learned a few days ago. The highlight of the closing ceremony was held with a group photo and announcement of various awards for students.
Prof. Dr. Ir. Yanuar, M.Eng., M.Sc. as Deputy Dean for Education, Research, and Student Affairs delivered his remarks at the closing ceremony, “At the end of this event, I hope that what you have gained for two weeks can help you in the future. We hope that you will be able to take all the best memories and invaluable experiences with you when you return to Australia.”
“Representing UQ students, I thank you for the warm welcome that has been given by the Universitas Indonesia for the past two weeks. We have many fond memories of the activities that took place. Starting from academic activities, and research, to cultural activities such as dancing and pottery making. As previously stated by Prof. Justin, I hope the bond between the two countries can continue,” said Lachlan, a UQ student.
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Bureau of Public Communications
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia