(Unila): The team from the University of Lampung (Unila) arrived in New York City on Monday afternoon, June 6, 2022, US time. It was headed by Unila Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Karomani, M.Sc., Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Prof. Dr. Heryandi, S.H., M.S., PKTIK Vice Chancellor, Prof. Suharso, Ph.D., and the head of UPT PKLI, Dr. Ayi Ahadiat, S.E., M.B.A. The visit was scheduled to follow up the agenda for strengthening collaboration with the world’s top 100 institutions.
Unila is making an attempt to be featured in the World ClassUniversity ranking this year, beginning with the Asia University Rankings. Unila’s internationalisation constitutes Unila’s commitment to quickly shift the status from Unila’s BLU to PTN-BH. The visit to the United States is deemed to be Unila’s preliminary effort to participate in world’s university rankings.
The team first began the visit to Pennsylvania State University (Penn State Global) to promote collaboration. It is then scheduled to attend the 2022 EduData Summit International Conference, as well as the Indonesian Consulate General in New York and the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, D.C., ahead of the visit to the University of Kentucky and Villanova University.
Pennsylvania State University
The visit to Pennsylvania State University (Penn Satet Global) was welcomed at 410 Boucke Building University Park by Penn State Global leadership, including Penn State Global Senior Director, Planning and Partnerships Mel White, Director of Development for Penn State Global and International, William Shuey, Assistant Director for Global Collaborations, Vladislav Likholetov, and Global Outreach Coordinate, Rachel Wortham.
Dr. Ayi Ahadiat, the head of UPT PKLI, stated that the Unila team’s visit to the world’s 96th-ranked institution has motivated Unila to be recognised as a worldwide university (World Class University). The itinerary for the visit included an exchange of institutional information, collaboration in education and research, campus tours, and lunch with Penn State Global leadership.
According to Ayi Ahadiat, the Unila team’s visit, warmly welcomed by Penn State Global, would be followed up by the implementation of activities prior to moving further with the MoU.
The Cooperation between Unila and Penn State Global includes a number of aspects, among others, matching financing in agriculture, as well as the production of palm oil such as, palm oil, rubber, and cassava. In addition, the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) programme, Students and Professors Exchange, scholarships, and SDGs, are among the programs discussed in the meeting with the Penn State Global.
“Essentially, we will have to promote cooperation with respect to a number of aspects, such as, research, student exchanges, professor exchanges, publications, development of resource-based innovation technologies such as, the SDGs, and potential developments. The cooperation is expected to facilitate both Lampung Province and Pennsylvania to get benefits,” Ayi Ahadiat explained.
EduData Summit Conference
Prof. Karomani of Unila mingled with university leaders from around the world at the EduData Summit 2022 Conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, America, on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, local time. QS-Quacquarelli Symonds hosted the event, which was attended by university representatives from the United States, Australia, Europe, Latin America, ASEAN (Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia), and the Middle East.
Data-driven educators, platform strategists, data scientists, Chief Information Officers (CIOs), and others gathered at this world-class gathering to discuss and share best practises in big data, predictive analytics, learning analytics, and education.
Rector Karomani was spotted conversing with the attendees, exchanging business cards, and taking photos with them. Karomani also met with Malaysian Minister of Higher Education Datuk Noraini Ahmad, who delivered the keynote address at the international conference at the time.
Furthermore, Karomani and his team met with the Wharton Interractive team, CS Regional Director Asia Chong E Way, University of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Dr. Airlangga University WCU Team. Dian and Dr. Padmawati from the University of Nijwa in Oman, Dr. Vishnu Juwono from the University of Indonesia, Dr. Abdullah from Qassim University in Saudi Arabia, and others were among those who spoke in the forum. The Unila team took advantage of this valuable opportunity to establish a network with world-class institutions.
The Unila team participated in all levels of conference activities for three days, from June 8 to June 10, 2022. The conference explored how data contributes to equal access to education, tracking the performance of initiatives that encourage sustainable learning, how industry influences course content, changing employer and employee demands, and how government policies. The Unila team also attended the release of the world’s best university rankings as well as the national level on that day.
The EduData Summit featured seven presenters, including IBM’s Global Chief Data Officer, Inderpal Bhandari, and Intel’s AI Lead Ethics Architect, Ria Cheruvu. Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Head Philip Cotton, UN Global Pulse Executive Director, Robert Kirkpatrick, PwC Global Education and Skills Network Leader Sally Jeffery, Google Chief Sustainability Officer, Kate Brandt, and UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences,Gabriela Ramos
“We are delighted to report that we are now moving a step forward to a world-class university network across the world and we are to shortly follow up the network” Rector Karomani added.
Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in New York
Prof. Karomani and his team continued their business visit to the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia) in New York on Friday, June 10, 2022, shortly after attending the 2022 EduData Summit meeting at UN Headquarters in New York.
The team was warmly welcomed by Dr. Arifi Saiman, the Indonesian Consul General in New York at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, 5, East 68th Street, New York, United States of America. Dr. Ayi Ahadiat, S.E., M.B.A., Head of UPT PKLI and Dr. Arifi Saiman discussed the cooperation with other universities in the working region of the Consulate General in New York.
According to Ayi, the Unila team also requested the Indonesian Consulate General’s assistance to facilitate Unila to promote collaboration with the universities under the jurisdiction of the Indonesian Consulate General in New York, including the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, DePaul University, and others.
“We also wish that Unila promotes a joint collaboration with a number of universities in the forms of lecture events, research collaborations, and publications. We specifically highlight Lampung culture, Unila’s art programme, Indonesian foreign speakers, and any programmes in which American students may be interested,” Ayi Ahadiat added.
Indonesian Embassy in Washington D.C
On the sixth day, Saturday, June 11, 2022, the Unila team visited the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in Washington D.C., where they were greeted by the Indonesian Embassy’s Education and Culture Attaché (Atdikbud), Prof. Popy Rufaidah, S.E., M.B.A., Ph.D.
On this occasion, Unila Chancellor Prof. Karomani raised the possibility for Unila to join a consortium of universities in the American state of Texas. The Unila team met with Prof. Popy, who is also a Professor of Marketing Management at Universitas Padjadjaran’s Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB).
Prof. Poppy, who earlier offered reinforcements when Unila visited Penn State University, remarked that Unila’s attempts to create networking with various universities in America were very enthusiastic and courteous.
Prof. Karomani also announced himself as the Chair of the National Character Strengthening Rector Forum (FRPKB), a collaboration comprising of 51 universities from across Indonesia.
Once Unila succeeds in joining a consortium in the state of Texas, Karomani believes it will become a leader and a driver of collaboration among institutions in Indonesia and America.
University of Kentucky
Monday morning local time, 13 June 2022, the Unila team signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Kentucky (UKy) in 103 Main Building, UK, Lexington, KY, United States. Unila was represented by Prof. Dr. Karomani, M.Sc., and UKy by Dr. Robert DiPaola, rector of UKy, and witnessed by chief academic officers and the Executive Director of International Partnerships & Research UKy, Barnes team.
Unila and UKy also discussed their long history of good connections, which have been tightly knit between the two. The close collaboration between these two educational institutions has generated many doctors and professors at Unila, including the former rector, Prof. Ir. Muhajir Utomo, M.Sc., Ph.D., who earned his doctorate at the University of Kentucky.
The Unila team’s visit to the University of Kentucky was the second after the former Unila Chancellor conducted a similar tour. Dr. Ayi Ahadiat noted that throughout the meeting, Unila’s rector underlined the importance of cooperation as a part of Unila’s attempts to go internationally.
“Professor Karomani stressed Unila’s participation in the globalisation push. It is critical to promote cooperation for the sake of both quality and quantity,” he stated.
The Unila team continued to visit the Gatton College of Business and Economics, UKy Student Health Clinic, the College of Agriculture, and Food and Environment (CAFE) and was welcomed by Summer Eglinski, Director of Gatton Global Initiatives, and Jacob Westover, Director of Recruitment.
Both sides addressed the possibility of developing two plus two, a two-year curriculum at Unila and two years at UKy for an undergraduate business degree. Unila also offers a Sandwich Master Program between Unila and UKy, and admits students from UKy on a reciprocal basis, as well as scholarships from UKy to Unila.
What is particularly intriguing in terms of cultural goodness is that Unila is the largest group ever received by the University of Kentucky. This indicates that UKy is keen in improving bilateral relations between Unila and UKy. “The aim is for UKy and Unila to meet via Zoom in September 2022,” Ayi explained.
Villanova University
“The University of Lampung is invited to join the programme, and the top officials of Villanova University are to visit Bogor and Bali, in July 2022, and are likely to visit the University of Lampung,” he stated.
During the conference, Unila offered Villanova University student classes in traditional Lampung music and dance, as well as teaching opportunities for its professors.
The team also went on a campus tour with Dr. Justinus Satrio, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering – Villanova University from Indonesia. The conference resulted in numerous prospects for Unila to become a collaborative location for Villanova University, particularly in the areas of student mobility and guest interaction.
According to Dr. Ayi Ahadiat, the Villanova College of Engineering has a Center for Humanitarian Engineering programme that allows students to perform real-world studies in countries such as, Indonesia. Villanova’s College of Engineering was created with the betterment of humanity in mind. [PR Team]
