Indonesia
As part of the 55th anniversary, Universitas Brawijaya held an International Conference on Higher Education entitled “Enhancing Competitiveness in Asia.”
Departing from the dynamics of competition among institutions of higher education in the world, as well as the growing awareness of developing countries towards university rankings, that are often adopted to assess the performance of a country, Universitas Brawijaya initiated to facilitate academics, government policymakers, executives, NGO activists, media staff, and all relevant parties to discuss more about the international competitiveness of higher education institutions in Indonesia by organizing an international conference.
This theme is chosen because Indonesia is still left behind in education. Universities in Indonesia and in Asia are competing for the highest rankings such as QS World Ranking so that with this conference, it is hoped that there will be discussions related to the solution to improve the ranking of Indonesia, especially Universitas Brawijaya in order to compete in Asia and internationally. The conference also aims to improve scientific work and teaching quality in Higher Education. There are 64 speakers in this conference, from Indonesia, Malaysia, United Kingdom, United State of America, Thailand and India.
The International Conference on Higher Education is held from 27 – 28 October 2017 at Widyaloka Building Universitas Brawijaya. With the speakers as follows:
1. Prof. Dr. Sharmani Gabriel
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya, Malaysia
2. Dr. Lorraine Paterson
European Research Council, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
3. Dr. Uli Kozok
The University of Hawaii at Manoa, United States of America
4. Prof. Ir. Hendrawan S., M.Rur. Sc, Ph.D.
Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia
Dr. Lorraine Paterson, Academician from Leicester University, U.K., who also serves as one of the speakers, said that it is not impossible for Indonesian Universities to compete in the global world. According to her, Indonesia has an advantage that is rarely owned by other countries namely the government’s commitment to education. Many scholarships are offered by the government for Indonesian students, as well as funds to hold such conferences. According to her, Indonesia is very fortunate to have a university that has been in 300 world-ranks and become a good learning tool for the Faculty, University, and students. Lorraine Paterson hopes that with this conference, the quality of teaching will increase and the facilities will continue to improve their quality.
The benefits of this international conference are to facilitate and link academic networks both nationally and internationally, and as many stakeholders as possible to discuss, exchange experiences, and encourage further cooperation in improving the competitiveness of higher education institutions in Indonesia.
(MSH)