(from left) ITS Vice Rector IV Bambang Pramujati ST MSc Eng Ph.D. and Executive Vice President of DUT Prof Jia Zhenyuan exchanged souvenirs virtually after giving a speech

ITS Campus, ITS News– Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) is always open to international relations with overseas universities worldwide. This time it was proven by an online visit by Dalian University of Technology (DUT) China, Tuesday (12/7), which intend to strengthen cooperation in terms of mobility of lecturers and students

During the visit, Yaya Sutarya as Attaché for Education, Culture, Research and Technology from the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, ITS Vice Rector IV Bambang Pramujati ST MSc Eng Ph.D., and Prof. Jia Zhenyuan as Executive Vice President of DUT were also present. Jia revealed that this visit was carried out as a form of appreciation for the collaboration between ITS and DUT for the past five years.

The same thing conveys by CommTECH and Mobility Program Manager of the ITS Global Partnership Directorate, Muhammad Wahyu Islami Pratama Maoundu ST MHub Int. Wahyu said that this opportunity was aimed at strengthening the cooperation between ITS and DUT, especially in three scientific fields: architecture, environmental science, and chemical.

This meeting itself is divided into three sessions. The first session was a ‘sacred’ session containing remarks from the leadership and representatives of each institution. “In addition, in this session, we put more emphasis on the journey of togetherness between ITS and DUT for the last five years,” said the ITS Civil Engineering alumnus.

Representatives of each institution took an online photo with Yaya Sutarya as Attaché for Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing (bottom right)

In the second session, the event continued with the delivery of testimonials by lecturers and students from ITS and DUT who had participated in this collaboration program. In addition to discussing the academic field, each party also explained the programs being developed, the focus of expertise, and the benefits of the area in which they were involved.

Not without reason, the collaboration between ITS and DUT is indeed established because of the same vision. Both have a research interest and are determined to support Indonesia’s bilateral relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), especially with the City of Surabaya, in industry and education. “They (KBRI) recognize the contribution of ITS in facilitating and building the city of Surabaya, for they want to strengthen their cooperation with us,” said Wahyu.

In the last session, a discussion forum was held to synergize the two universities, which was packaged in the Guest Lecture Series (GLS). This activity is intended to establish new, more intense relationships between lecturers. “This is because, during the pandemic, the internationalization agenda that we can carry out is quite limited and short-term in nature, so we need more detailed discussions regarding the next plan,” Wahyu explained.

Presentation session of each institution’s program in an online meeting between ITS and DUT

Furthermore, Wahyu added that so far, the departments at ITS that have participated in the program with DUT on average come from the Department of Regional and City Planning (PWK) and the Department of Environmental Engineering. That’s because the available fields connect the two. “However, starting this year, we are adding chemical science fields related to the Department of Material and Metallurgical Engineering and ITS Industrial Chemical Engineering,” he explained.

While waiting for China’s borders to be reopened to foreigners, Wahyu targets to be able to arrange talks related to a long-term internationalization agenda. Wahyu hopes this activity can be the starting point for the sluggish ITS and DUT cooperation relationship due to the pandemic. “We are confident that we can create wider cooperation in the future,” he said optimistically. (ITS Public Relation)

Reporter: Erchi Ad’ha Loyensya