two-day mission to Indonesia on 16 -17 July 2007, during
which he visited the AIT Center Indonesia (AIT-CI) in Bandung,
met with the Ministry of Public Works (under whose auspices
the AIT Center is hosted), interacted with AIT alumni, and held a meeting
with a private university interested in partnering with AIT.
AIT-CI and Gajah Madah University launch joint master’s program
In his first meeting, the President met with 17 Indonesian students enrolling as the first group of the new joint masters program in transportation engineering to be conducted by AIT-CI in collaboration with the Gajah Madah University (UGM). The soon-to-be students are all employees of the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works (which is fully funding their studies) and hail from different parts of the country.
In June of this year the students began an English language preparatory course conducted locally by a small faculty hired from the department of English at a local teacher education college. Studying at the fully equipped AIT-CI English language laboratory in Bandung, the students told the President they are all very enthusiastic about improving their English skills and are eagerly looking forward to initiating their masters program, which will begin the first semester at UGM, followed by the second and third semesters at AIT-CI, and the last semester at UGM.
President Irandoust also had an opportunity to meet and interact with AIT-CI Director Dr. Sugimin, and the fifteen staff members working at AIT-CI, all of whom are employees of the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) and are working on a part-time basis. At the meeting, the AIT President stressed the importance for the Center to pursue innovative initiatives that will make it self-sufficient and financially sustainable. He urged all at AIT-CI to strive to achieve this goal within the next 3-year period, during which the Center is financially supported by the Ministry. Staff in Indonesia also expressed some of their concerns and explained their challenges, which, in turn, President Irandoust was able to raise during his follow-up meeting with Dr. Roestam Sjarief, Secretary General, Ministry of Public Works. President Irandoust agreed with AIT-CI Director, Dr. Sugimin, who requested AIT faculty and staff members to keep the AIT-CI informed of ongoing or planned activities in Indonesia so that there is better synergy and coordination in our common efforts.
During his meeting with Dr. Roestam, the AIT President was able to put forward some of the concerns and challenges raised by the AIT-CI staff, particularly some of the terms and conditions of certain government regulations that act as a barrier to AIT-CI activities. Dr. Roestam was amenable to Dr. Said’s proposal to allow the Center to recruit additional professional staff from outside the Ministry, in addition to those that are engaged on a part-time basis. The AIT President also proposed to recruit a full-time Director for the Center, which has been endorsed by Dr. Roestam, and AIT will be initiating the process for the selection of a full-time Director for the Center in the near future. He also informed the Ministry and AIT-CI that the AIT Internal Auditor will monitor the financial operations of the Center and conduct an audit on an annual basis.
Visit to Pelita Harapan University
Later, the AIT President also visited Pelita Harapan University (UPH)-Tanggerang at the invitation of its Rector, Professor Jonathan Parapak. UPH, which is a 14-year- old private university of 10,000 students, was established by one of the largest banks in Indonesia. UPH has expressed a keen interest in partnering with AIT in a unified bachelors-masters program through AIT-CI. The President reported that UPH is a comprehensive university with excellent infrastructure facilities and has some common areas of study to AIT, such as in the field of food technology, electrical engineering, civil engineering, and industrial engineering and management. UPH will study AIT's proposal and provide its feedback.
Meeting with AIT Alumnus Dr. Achmad Lanti
During AIT President’s visit in Indonesia, he also met with AIT alumnus Dr. Achmad Lanti (WRE 1983), who works with the Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body. Dr. Lanti is working on a large project on flood control. He will be visiting AIT some time in August during which he will be delivering a seminar and presenting further details on the project "Multi Purpose Deep Tunnel (MPDT)," which he is currently engaged in. Faculty, staff and students with backgrounds in waste water sanitation, water, structural engineering, geology, transportation, environmental impact assessment, are invited to attend.