(Unila): The University of Lampung (Henceforth: Unila) continues to foster innovation in response to the current educational challenges. One of the innovations is done by affiliation classes.
Intended for working people from either public or private sectors wishing to continue their higher education, the affiliation classes provide a solution to those who find it hard to continue their education regularly due to time and distance restrictions. By attending the classes, they will be able to increase their capacity and get promotion in their workplace.
This has also been done by the Faculty of Engineering (FT), the University of Lampung. As a form of great support to their alumni, a transfer class for graduates of associate degree (three-year diploma) wishing to pursue their undergraduate degree in Geodesy and Geomatics has been officially opened, on Monday, 5th October, 2020.
Head of the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, Ir. Fauzan Murdapa, MT, IPM., said that it was based on the MoU signing between Unila and the Central Indonesian Surveyor Association (ISI), related to the implementation of tridarma activities in higher education institutions in 2018.
Since then, a number of requests from Alumni of D3 programme in Survey and Mapping Engineering, who are also ISI members, to continue their study at undergraduate degree at Unila have been sent. It is related to the career path they want to achieve at their workplace. So far, time and distance restrictions have made it difficult for them to continue their education, which impacted on their career promotions.
By looking at the real phenomena, Fauzan and his team members from the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering decided to seek advice and to find a solution by having a deep discussion with the University management to accommodate the alumni’s wishes.
“Finally, it was a dream come true. We made it possible through a partnership between the Indonesian Surveyor Association and Unila,” he said by phone.
The first affiliation class for undergraduate program in Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering was opened in the 2020/2021 academic year. This class accepted 30 alumni of ISI Lampung region members working in various institutions such as the National Land Agency (BPN), PU, ITERA, PT. Surveyor Indonesia, and other companies.
Fauzan further explained that a great number of people applied for admission in the first year. However, for the first class, the Faculty of Engineering of Unila only accepted a total of 30 prospective students living in Lampung.
Through this program, he hopes to encourage the interchange between the two parties. Unila, through Department of Geodesy and Geomatics, is expected to help its alumni improve their knowledge in science and technology to support their future career.
Fauzan also hopes that the program can provide the academics with practical feedback to improve their classroom instructions, especially when teaching students in the freshman years. “They have a lot of practical experience in the field, which are beneficial to us”, he added. [Public Relations Team]
