(Reported from http://unpar.ac.id) Collaboration is the main capital for the advancement of higher education today. By expanding its network of partnerships, a university can improve the quality of its academic programs and learning experiences for its students. This is well understood by Parahyangan Catholic University (Unpar), which continuously enhances its partnerships with existing partners and collaborators, as well as establishing new partnerships with various parties both domestically and internationally.
On Wednesday (May 9th), Unpar confirmed its collaboration with two Indonesian private universities, namely Universitas Widyatama and Prof. Dr. Moestopo Beragama University or UPDM (B). The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) became the basis for cooperation between the three universities in the field of improving and implementing the Tridharma Perguruan Tinggi (Three Pillars of Higher Education).
Unpar Rector Mangadar Situmorang Ph.D, along with university leaders and faculty deans at Unpar, welcomed the arrival of Widyatama University Rector Dr. H. Islahuzzman and UPDM (B) Rector Prof. Dr. Rudy Harjanto along with their respective staff. This event was also attended by Dr. Thomas Suyatno, Member of the Advisory Board of the Association of Indonesian Private Universities (APTISI) and advisor to the UPDM (B) Foundation.
Mangadar welcomed the cooperation with Widyatama and UPDM (B). “It is a challenge for us to be able to provide something meaningful, something real for us to work on together,” he said. He hoped that bilateral and trilateral collaboration would be the beginning of a joint commitment and could be realized well.
Responding to Mangadar’s remarks, Rudy stated that cooperation between universities has a positive impact on all parties as higher education institutions. He further said, “This is how we advance education.” Islahuzzman expressed a similar sentiment. “If we want to progress and improve quality, we have no choice but to cooperate. We must cooperate,” he said. He added that cooperation must cover various fields, starting with a focus on research and its publication.
The event then continued with the signing of the MoU between the three parties. Closing the meeting, Thomas said that cooperation is an important step for universities in facing current challenges. The existence of Unpar as one of the leading universities with “A” (excellent) accreditation is expected to be a driving force for other universities, particularly Widyatama and UPDM (B), in improving the quality of higher education and science.
