Singaraja- Ganesha University of Education (Undiksha) continues to make breakthroughs to achieve its vision of “Becoming an Excellent University based on the philosophy of Tri Hita Karana in Asia in 2045” as well as achieving internationalization at home which was launched in 2019. This breakthrough was not only by designing international accreditation for a number of study programs. In 2021, an international class initiation was also formed whose student orientation took place, Thursday (16/9/2021) virtually.
The event was opened by the Chancellor of Undiksha, Prof. Dr. I Nyoman Jampel, M.Pd. He said that to achieve the vision faster, Undiksha continues to move to become a university excellent in teaching, research, and innovation. “If you look at what we are doing and what we are planning as an international class initiation, it is actually not a new thing because in the 4-year program I was elected as rector we have planned it. In 2019, I set a target for Undiksha to be able to become a learning house for the entire international community, good degree nor non-degree program,” he explained.
As a first step, there were nine 9 study programs that were formed into international class initiations, namely Management S-1 Study Program, Law Studies Study Program, Computer Science Undergraduate Study Program, PGSD Undergraduate Study Program, Physical Education and Health Research Study Program, S-1 Study Program -1 Mathematics, Bachelor of English Education Study Program, Bachelor of Medicine Study Program, and Master of English Education Study Program. The students are the chosen ones because the best students who graduate from the SNMPTN and SBMPTN admission pathways are recruited. In addition, they also master foreign languages, especially English. “The younger students are expected to be an example for others and it is hoped that these nine study programs will become a trigger for other study programs to be ready to declare themselves as study programs that are ready to go international,” he emphasized.
Delivered further, in the last few years, Undiksha has accepted students from a number of countries and has carried out international programs, including BIPA (Indonesian Language for Foreign Speakers) training, international credit transfer, community service, teaching practices, internships, and other programs. In 2021, Undiksha launched its flagship program, namely the fast-track (3+2) program in collaboration with Ming Chi University of Technology (MCUT) Taiwan. This program provides an opportunity for Undiksha students to study at Undiksha for 3 years to take the bachelor’s program and continue for 2 years at MCUT Taiwan to take the master’s program. So that in 5 years these students will get a bachelor’s degree from Undiksha and a master’s degree from MCUT Taiwan. This is a flagship program to provide international experience for Undiksha students. Currently, Undiksha sends 8 of its best students to take part in this program.
In addition, Undiksha has also collaborated with a number of universities abroad in implementing the Tri Dharma of Higher Education and this will continue to be maximized. “We hope that the tertiary institutions that are our partners will be world-class which we will take from the TOP 100 QS Ranking and we will continue to strive to achieve that,” said the Chancellor of Jampel. To make this program a success, the Chancellor of Jampel encouraged the faculty to continue to improve the quality of Human Resources (HR), mastery of English, and mastery of information technology. “Show that Undiksha is capable of becoming one of the superior and competitive universities,” he pleaded.
The international class continued the Chancellor of Jampel, which was actually not a new thing for Undiksha. Previously, he had initiated an international standard class at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The competence of graduates can be taken into account, both in terms of mastery of knowledge, mastery of language, and mastery of technology. “A lot of graduates teach in classes or schools, or international standard institutions, and many of their further studies are abroad,” he concluded.
Undiksha Deputy Chancellor for Academic and Cooperation Affairs, Dr. Gede Rasben Dantes, S.T., M.T.I., who was the speaker at the student orientation, said that the formation of this international class consisted of three stages. First, the initiation of international classes, namely bilingual education and teaching, namely English and Indonesian. “However, it is hoped that lecturers and students will continue to increase their potential,” he said.
The second stage is a partial international class. The education and teaching process uses English in full, there are already students from abroad to take credit transfers, as well as Undiksha students, can take courses at partner universities abroad. The third stage is a complete international class, where students from abroad take a degree (bachelor/master degree) at Undiksha. “My message is never afraid to learn,” he concluded. (hms)
