By SAT Newsdesk
MELBOURNE, 30 November 2020: Monash University’s Indonesia campus is an official legal entity in Indonesia and has been granted a licence to operate by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, a significant milestone in establishing the country’s first-ever international, foreign-owned university.
Yayasan Monash University Indonesia, known as Monash Indonesia, will be a research-intensive postgraduate campus with a network of industry connections, offering master and Ph.D. degrees, as well as executive programs and micro-credentials.
Monash University President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner AC said the campus’ legal establishment in Indonesia and our official licence is a further step in cementing Monash’s commitment to Indonesia and our in-country campus becoming a reality.
“Monash University’s Indonesia campus, opening in 2021, will further expand our international presence, creating additional global research collaborations, advanced professional development for graduates, and opportunities for collaboration with industry. It allows Monash to make even stronger and deeper connections across our dynamic network of teaching locations in Australia, Italy, Malaysia, China, and India,” Professor Gardner said.
“The campus in Indonesia will offer additional opportunities for student and staff global mobility, and cross-nation research collaboration with a local university and industry partners. This is particularly important in areas of high priority and demand, including data science and digital technology; infrastructure and urban design; creative industry and entrepreneurship and public policy and public health,” says a Medianet press release.
This builds on the groundbreaking research collaborations between Monash and Indonesia, including the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) program and the World Mosquito Program (WMP).
Monash University Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Southeast Asia Partnerships) Professor Andrew MacIntyre said: “The mission of Monash Indonesia is to contribute strongly to the further social, economic, and technological development of Indonesia.”
“The legal establishment and license allows us to forge ahead with designing a state-of-the-art, purpose-built campus in a burgeoning, modern and sustainable city centre,” Professor MacIntyre said.
Indonesian Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim has welcomed the next steps for progressing the Monash campus.
“Strengthening the Indonesian education system is of high priority to all in Indonesia and a Monash campus will support, and accelerate this. It will also continue the work we are doing with Australia in broadening our social, economic, and technological links.”
Meanwhile, the presence of a foreign university branch in Indonesia has had mixed feelings. An article in The Conversation says, ” Some say that foreign branch campuses will revitalise Indonesia’s university research climate by opening up more avenues for international research collaboration.
Other scholars, however, are worried that if not regulated carefully, foreign campuses can upset Indonesia’s higher education market and close down smaller local universities that are unprepared for competition.”
Monash Indonesia is the first international university to be established in Indonesia, deepening the partnership between the two countries. The Victorian Government, Australian Government, and Indonesia Government have put their full support behind the establishment of this campus, anticipating it will make a strong and distinctive contribution to the already strong ties between Indonesia and Australia.
The campus location in Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) City in Southwest Jakarta, is part of a burgeoning, modern and sustainable city centre focused on environmentally conscious and lifestyle-connected communities for work, education, and recreation.
