SERDONG, INDONESIA, 2 February 2016 – The Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Professor Dato' Dr. Omar Osman was the sole head of a foreign university to be invited to attend the National Working Meeting, Indonesian Higher Education 2016 (Rapat Kerja Nasional Pendidikan Tinggi Indonesia 2016), organised by the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Kementerian Riset, Teknologi dan Pendidikan Tinggi) from 31 January – 2 February 2016.

The two-day programme with the theme ‘Membangun Sinergi Ristek dan Dikti untuk Meningkatkan Daya Saing Bangsa’ (Developing the Synergy in Research and Technology with Higher Education to Enhance the Competitiveness of the Nation) was attended by approximately 400 participants from among the leaders in higher education, technology and research throughout Indonesia, with the ceremony officiated by the representative of the President, Republic of Indonesia in the morning on the first day.

The Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education Indonesia, Dr. Mohamad Nasir said that, this programme was aimed at organising the measures and concrete steps to be taken by the Ministry to implement programmes which have been prioritised throughout 2016 and 2017.

“Various parties have been invited to ensure the overall success of this aspiration, which also involved the stakeholders including those from the industry,” said Mohamad Nasir in his speech at the programme.

Meanwhile, Omar regarded his participation in the programme as a great honour to USM in sharing the experiences of becoming the APEX University and the efforts towards realising USM as a Global University.

“I had the opportunity to share my experience in ensuring the success of the APEX university and the journey to become a globally-recognised university in various fields, as well as becoming a Global University through numerous global networking efforts in the first plenary session for about 30 minutes, and was followed by a question-and-answer session with the other plenary members for the next 2 hours," said Omar.

He believed that the universities in Indonesia have the capacity to become world-class universities.

“We shared views and experiences in efforts relating to research, innovation and industry-community networking, those of which could offer mutual benefits to various parties, especially to the leaders of the well-renowned universities in Indonesia,” said Omar.

He added that, with the focus given on the knowledge in Science and Technology, I believe that efforts towards becoming a world-class university could be implemented, what more with the diverse strength available among the universities in Indonesia which could be assembled to develop the synergy towards being industrious and becoming more competitive.

Presentation slides (PPT) of the USM Vice-Chancellor presented at the National Working Meeting Programme (RAKERNAS) are available at http://mprc.usm.my/index.php/en/download

Translation: Tan Ewe Hoe

Text: Mohamad Abdullah