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K-State Today

November 29, 2011

Computing and information sciences professor visits top Indonesian universities to help form strategic partnerships

Submitted by Communications and Marketing

Following up a recent trip to Indonesia by Division of Continuing Education Dean Sue Maes and Associate Dean David Stewart,  Robby — associate professor of computing and information sciences — visited top Indonesian universities froma Nov. 21-23 to help establish strategic partnerships with K-State with the initial focus on the field of computer science.

During this trip, Robby visited Universitas Pelita Harapan, where he spent the first two years of his computer science undergraduate study from 1995-1997 before transferring to the U.S. by taking advantage of the university's 2+2 undergraduate program with Oklahoma State University. Universitas Pelita Harapan is very well known in Indonesia for its business and law schools and engineering programs, as well as its strong partnerships with institutions around the world, including Australia, China, Europe, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the U.S.

On Nov. 21, Robby witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between K-State and Universitas Pelita Harapan that serves as a general framework for partnerships between the two institutions. The event is documented online. Moreover, he gave a lecture titled “Emerging Trends and Challenges in Software Quality Assurance for Safety/Security-Critical Systems,” describing K-State's computing and information sciences research thrusts and graduate assistantship/fellowship programs. The public presentation was well attended by the university's computer science students and lecturers.

In addition to Universitas Pelita Harapan, Robby visited and met with representatives from other Indonesian universities:

  • Universitas Indonesia -- the top ranking university in Indonesia;
  • BINUS University -- a top information technology focused university; and
  • Sampoerna University -- a recently founded university that is currently establishing a school of computer science. Putera Sampoerna Foundation, a well-funded nonprofit organization that aims to improve education in Indonesia, established Sampoerna University.

The three universities above expressed strong interests in establishing strategic partnerships with K-State, for example, by first signing a similar memorandum of understanding that Universitas Pelita Harapan recently signed.

Furthermore, Robby visited ACCESS Education Beyond -- a consulting service founded by Putera Sampoerna Foundation. ACCESS offers counseling services for Indonesians interested in pursuing higher education in institutions around the world, as well as serving as a partner for international institutions interested in establishing links to Indonesian universities. ACCESS served as the Indonesian host for the recent Global Associates-organized visit to Indonesia by US institution representatives including Maes and Stewart. ACCESS was recently selected as a partner by the US administration to encourage partnerships between U.S. and Indonesian institutions.

The White House recently released a fact sheet about U.S.-Indonesian educational partnerships that is available online.