PENANG, 1 Sept 2017 - Three Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) students from the School of the Arts (PPS) represented the university for a 9-day study tour (20-28 August) in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Niny Amelia binti Harmen (Product Design), Putri Intan Sari binti Amrizal (Fine Arts) and Norfatihah binti Yusof (Fine Arts) were recently in Indonesia for a joint Summer Study programme between Universitas Mercu Buana and Universitas Indonesia under full sponsorship from the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education.

"The programme provided insights into the heritage and traditional practices of the Indonesian batik from the traditional and modern perspectives, the design philosophy, fashion design, textile photography, fabrics and traditional Indonesian dance," said Norfatihah.

She added, they also visited Wisata Batik Komar in Bandung, which is among the leading batik producer in Indonesia to know more on commercial batik production and the research and innovation (R&I) efforts in the local batik industry.

The programme also invited the Indonesian Classical Batik Icon, Sakundria Satya Murti Wardhana to share information on the development of batik design in Indonesia, not only in the fabric industry, but also on how batik is incorporated in interior and product design.

Apart from that, Dr. Ali Akhbar, a senior lecturer from the Archaeology Unit, Faculty of Humanities at Universitas Indonesia also shared some of his knowledge and experience on heritage preservation and the importance of arts in society.

The insightful programme was attended by 18 students from four countries, namely Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin