In an effort to improve the quality of education and research as well as increase the University’s reputation, Undip has massively initiated collaborations with various universities around the world. On the occasion of a working visit to Sydney, Australia, September 27-28, 2023, the Undip delegation was led directly by the Rector (Prof. Dr. Yos Johan Utama, S.H., M.Hum), Chair of the Board of Trustees (Prof. Mohamad Nasir, Ph.D.) as well as the Chair of the Academic Senate (Prof. Edy Rianto, Ph.D.). The Undip delegation met directly with Professor Sonja van Wichelen, Deputy Director of Sydney Southeast Asia Center, and Danielle Muir, Head of International Partnerships and Development, Sydney Future Students and the team.
Professor Sonja van Wichelen, as head of the University of Sydney and Undip meeting team, really welcomed the arrival of the Undip delegation. She gave a glimpse of the profile of Indonesian students at the University of Sydney and how the University, through the Sydney Southeast Asia Center, has carried out many activities in Indonesia, especially in the fields of education and research. Meanwhile, Danielle Muir, Head of International Partnerships and Development, Sydney Future Students, explained how the facilities and support provided make it easier for international students who want to study at the University of Sydney.
During the meeting, the Rector, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Chair of the Academic Senate said that Undip is currently focusing on increasing collaboration with the TOP 100 University QS WUR to improve the quality of education and research held at Undip. Collaboration models offered include joint degrees and double degrees for several international undergraduate and postgraduate study programs and collaborative research between researchers from the University of Sydney and Diponegoro University. Undip also offers foreign lecturers at the University of Sydney the opportunity to become visiting lecturers or visiting professors at Undip. On this occasion, it was also conveyed that the main scientific pattern of Undip’s research is Coastal Region Eco-Development, which could later become the basis for the theme of research collaboration between researchers from the University of Sydney and Diponegoro University.
In a quite warm discussion held with a group of other Undip delegates, namely Prof. Ambariyanto, Ph.D. (Vice Rector for Research, Innovation and Cooperation), Prof. Dr. Yusriyadi, S.H., M.Hum (Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees), Dr. Agus Indarjo (Secretary of the Board of Trustees), Prof. Dr. Purwanto (Head of the Planning and Development Agency), Prof. Dr. Suharnomo (Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business), Prof. Dr. Denny Nugroho Sugianto (Head of Ranking Office), Dessy Ariyanti, Ph.D. (Deputy Head of the Ranking Office), Ahmad Ni’matullah Al-Baarri, Ph.D. (WCU Task Force Team), and Anggi Andyaningsih, S.Hum (Rector’s Secretary), the University of Sydney have welcomed the collaboration model offered. They conveyed several things that might be done in the near future to follow up on the meeting held at Michael Spence Building, including the exchange of information related to the curriculum and assessment of several international undergraduate and postgraduate study programs, as well as the exchange of information on researchers from each University.
The same thing was also conveyed at the Undip delegation meeting with Macquarie University, which was held on September 27, 2023. The delegation was welcomed by Lee-ann Norris, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Future Students) and Stephen Fan, Director, Global Partnerships and Protocol, Macquarie University. During the meeting, Lee-ann conveyed several strategies taken by Macquarie University to improve the University’s academic reputation and how the University improved the quality of education, research and support for international students studying at Macquarie University. The Rector, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Chair of the Academic Senate said that Undip has several internationalization activities through the World Class University program, which can be used to initiate joint activities with Macquarie University, such as visiting lecturer and visiting professor activities at Undip. One of the outputs is Joint Research and joint Publication, which led to collaboration between universities.
The purpose of this meeting was to benchmark Undip towards becoming a world-class university according to Undip’s target of being able to enter the top 500 universities according to the QS WUR version. As is known, the University of Sydney is one of the major universities in Australia, ranked 19th in the QS World University Rankings 2024. Meanwhile, Macquarie University is ranked 139th in the QS World University Rankings 2024. Undip Rector, Prof. Yos Johan Utama, hopes that the Undip delegation’s visit to these two universities can be an entry point for developing the quality of Undip’s education and research through internationalization programs and activities, which will be held jointly with each of these universities and to support Undip’s efforts to become a TOP 500 World Class University.
