Universitas Indonesia (UI) has further strengthened its position as the best university in Indonesia by intensifying and strengthening international cooperation. In an intensive six-day trip (27/11-2/12), the UI group was led by Prof. Dr. Dedi Priadi, DEA, UI Vice Rector for Human Resources and Assets. The group not only visited the University of California Berkeley (UCB) and the University of California Davis (UCD), but also expanded the scope of research and education cooperation with the two leading universities in the United States.
Prof. Dedi was accompanied by the Dean of the UI Faculty of Engineering (FT), Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU, and Dr. Munawar Khalil, UI Director of Research and Development. “The ‘Scholars Engagement Program for Natural Resources-Based Research and Innovation’ at FTUI, which is fully funded by the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), has been successfully running for the past year with UCB. We plan to expand this cooperation in the future by broadening the scope of cooperation. In addition, UI and UC Davis are exploring the possibility of cooperation with similar schemes,” Prof. Dedi said.
One of the main agendas of the visit was benchmarking science techno park (STP) activities. In line with this, the UI delegation visited Berkeley SkyDeck, a technology accelerator and incubator at UCB, and SCET UCB, an academic center in UCB’s School of Engineering where engineers and scientists gather to innovate, manufacture, and commercialize their technology products.
UI team during their visit to UCB Skydeck
UI team visit UCB SCET
When visiting UCD on Thursday (30/11), the UI delegation was welcomed by Richard L. Corsi, Dean of the College of Engineering. The discussion went warmly regarding the possibility of establishing educational and research cooperation between UI and UCB in the future.
Prof. Heri said, “FTUI and UCD discussed the potential for collaborative double degree programs for undergraduate and master students, sending visiting professors from UCD to UI, and joint supervision for doctoral students. This initiative aims to improve the quality of FTUI’s international programs by involving leading university partners.”
Prof. Dedi also revealed an offer from UCD to send three of UI’s best researchers as research ambassadors to conduct joint research at UCD. This is in line with the spirit of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which funds this activity through the Promoting Research and Innovation through Modern and Efficient Science and Techno Park (PRIMESTEP) Project. The PRIMESTEP project is channeled through the Ministry of Education and Research to establish a Science Techno Park at UI and three other major universities.
Dr. Munawar Khalil, Prof. Dedi Priadi, Richard L. Corsi – Dean of College of Engineering UC Davis, Prof. Heri Hermansyah
In addition to exploring the potential of two top universities in the United States, the UI group also took the time to meet with the Indonesian Consulate General in San Francisco and meet face-to-face with four UI students who are currently participating in the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program at UCD.
Prof. Dedi and Prof. Heri met with four UI Students currently studying in UC Davis under the IISMA Program
The hope is that this visit will not only provide insight into best practices in science and technology development, but also build strong partnerships with UCB and UCD. This collaboration is expected to result in joint research, knowledge exchange, and innovation to support UI’s development as a research university and make a significant contribution to the advancement of science and technology, both regionally and globally.
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Public Communication Office
Faculty of Engineering, University of Indonesia