DAAD Sponsored Workshop on Higher Institution Internationalization Strategy

NMT (National Multiplication Trainings) Workshop that took topic Internationalization Policies & Strategies to Support Emancipated Learning Educational Policy in Indonesia was successfully held in Banda Aceh, 16 – 18 February 2022. It was initiated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), supported by German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ).

NMT is part of the DIES (Dialogue on Innovation Higher Education Strategies) program that is developed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and The German Rectors Conference (HRK), managed by the University of Potsdam, German. The funding for the activity comes from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is distributed to alumni of the DIES Program around the world. 

In this year, 2021/2022, there are a number of proposals that have been accepted. The proposals are from ASEAN, Africa, and Latin America. Especially for Indonesia, two proposals were accepted, one of them is the proposal from the Universitas Syiah Kuala (USK) and its partners.

For this opportunity, USK together with five other universities, Universitas Surabaya, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya, Universitas Indonesia, and Universitas Jenderal Soedirman organized the National Multiplication Trainings (NMT) Workshop I. The activity which discussed the strategy towards the internationalization of higher education was officially opened by Prof. Dr. Ir. Marwan, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of Universitas Syiah Kuala, at the Hermes Palace Hotel, Banda Aceh, on February 16, 2022.

Prof. Marwan in his speech appreciated this activity. He considered this activity as the part of encouragement to reach the World Class University. So far, USK has also been involved in various international activities or collaborations.

USK has also been actively participating in various Erasmus programs under the coordination of the European Union. The success of the university in carrying out the Erasmus program has succeeded in increasing the reputation of this university in the ranks of European universities.

That is why Prof. Marwan measured this activity as significant for USK to strengthen its institutions so that the university is able to play its role in a wider area and globally. Moreover, the event provides guidance on how to create and expand international cooperation.

On this occasion, Prof. Marwan also invited all participants to involved synergistically and support each other, regarding the efforts in internationalizing the university, because it can help to improve the reputation of the world of Indonesian education in the international arena. 

“This is a good chance for all of us. Hopefully, this can further strengthen our communication, especially in efforts to internationalize universities in Indonesia,” he said.

Chairman of the Office of International Affairs (OIA) of USK, Dr. Muzailin Affan, M.Sc, explained that the purpose of this activity was to fully support efforts to develop the potential of higher education. The topics discussed in this activity included strategies and implementation of higher education internationalization programs, increasing awareness of internationalization programs at the university level, and others.

The participants of this activity were from 17 universities and institutions in Sumatra and Kalimantan, they were Universitas Medan Area, Universitas Muhammadiyah Palembang, Universitas Dehasen Bengkulu, Universitas Muhammadiyah Aceh, Universitas Serambi Mekkah, Universitas Muhammadiyah Metro, STIKes Muhammadiyah Lhokseumawe, Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu, Universitas Muhammadiyah Palangkaraya, Universitas Muhammadiyah Bangka Belitung, Universitas Almuslim, STKIP Muhammadiyah Aceh Barat Daya, Universitas Muhammmadyah Pontianak, IAIN Lhokseumawe, STKIP Muhammadyah Aceh Tengah, Akademi Keperawatan Muhammadiyah Bireuen, and Universitas Syiah Kuala.

As a future plan, a similar activity will be held again on July 12-14, 2022.

This activity also presented a number of leading national and international practitioners in the field of human resource capacity building from Germany, Malaysia, and Indonesia, they were Dr. Birgit Barden-Laufer, Assoc. Prof. Ariffin Bin Abu Hassan, Dr. Muzailin Affan M.Sc., Adi Prasetyo Tedjakusuma B.Bus M.Com, Dr. Arief Budiman, Ida Puspita S.S., M.A.Res, Erlyn Erawan, Psy.D., Mateus Yumarnamto, S.Pd., M.Hum., Ph.D. Alfrida Hutapea, and Dr. Condro Wibowo.

Therefore, Muzailin Affan considered this activity as a great opportunity for universities to build international networks, especially to experts who have a good reputation.

“So, I think this is a good occasion for us to learn, and increase knowledge directly from the sources,” he said.