JOGJAKARTA, INDONESIA, June 13, 2014—Gadjah Mada University will host sixty educators and administrators from the United States and Indonesia on June 16 – 18 for a workshop to develop new research partnerships, explore potential areas of collaboration, and initiate joint proposals in the areas of sustainable environment and resilient community. The workshop is the first major activity planned by the USIPP Consortium, a bi-national group of twelve colleges and universities committed to advancing U.S. – Indonesia academic collaboration.
Launched in May 2013, the USIPP Consortium includes six Indonesian and six U.S. higher education institutions, which are, from Indonesia: Airlangga University, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bogor Agricultural Institute, Gadjah Mada University, Institute of the Arts – Jogjakarta, University of Indonesia; from the United States: Chatham University, Lehigh University, Miami Dade College, Northern Illinois University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington.
The USIPP Consortium is a direct outcome of a two-year grant from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), which funded the U.S. Indonesia Partnership Program that was administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) from 2010 – 2012. The purpose of the original program was to increase U.S. study abroad to Indonesia and foster long-term partnerships between U.S. and Indonesian higher education institutions. With the support of seed grants from the ECA funding, the twelve institutions developed new study abroad programs through which they brought 37 American students to Indonesia along with more than a half dozen American faculty members. More importantly, the twelve institutions developed solid working relationships with one another, and ultimately committed to formalizing and expanding their joint activities as a consortium after the conclusion of the initial program.
The elected bi-national secretariat of the consortium, which consists of representatives of Lehigh University and Gadjah Mada University, is responsible for steering this first year of consortium activities. The secretariat worked with a bi-national planning committee of faculty members to organize the upcoming workshop. With the conviction that faculty members are essential for driving research collaboration, the planning committee identified sub-themes related to sustainable environment and resilient community that are of interest to the faculty involved in the workshop. Sub –themes in the sustainable environment area include eco art, marine biology and biodiversity, and adaptive urbanism. Sub-themes in the resilient community area include natural disaster risk reduction and management, cross-cultural studies/international relations, and democracy and religious pluralism. Faculty participants will have time to discuss potential research proposals and new programs face to face, and are expected to emerge from the two and a half days with concrete outlines for new concept papers. Eighteen U.S. faculty members and dozens of Indonesian counterparts will travel to Jogjakarta to convene at Gadjah Mada University.
U.S.-Indonesia academic relations have been on the rise since Presidents Obama and Yudhoyono announced the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries in 2010, and included a working group specifically focused on education. While existing initiatives such as the Fulbright program remain cornerstones of the bi-lateral relationship, the USIPP Consortium demonstrates a strong commitment from the higher education sector in both countries to complement government initiatives with private efforts.
USIPP Secretariat Media Contacts
Gadjah Mada University
Rio Rini Diah Moehkard, Head, Office of International Affairs, email
Lehigh University
Emily Groff, Communications Specialist, email
Contacts
Public Affairs