EDUCATION EXPO 2013

The biggest higher education exhibition in Indonesia, the 2013 22^nd Education & Training Expo, took place in seven prominent cities. Approximately 110 booths participated at the Jakarta Convention Center, from January 24 – 27, 2013, that include both public and private universities, as well as institutions coming from Jakarta and beyond that offer various skill-related courses.

Pelita Harapan University has participated for the last three years in an event held by Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Tinggi/Dinas Pendidikan of DKI Jakarta Provinciality. During the exhibition UPH held the special program offering serious potential applicants the chances to submit registration forms, each worth IDR 300,000, for free.

The visitors were enthusiastic about this free registration form program. ?Daily visitors to our booth reach thousands? mark. Most of the visitors already had in mind what their chosen majors would be and it was only the matter of going to which universities?weighing, comparing, and contrasting their choices. Thus, they asked a lot more specific questions,? explained Ms. Elisa, UPH Event Manager.

During the exhibition, up to ten PCs were utilized to accommodate any eager participant who wished to complete a new student registration process online through UPH?s official website. Those at home can also register for free at their convenience. She further elaborated, ?Online registration cuts down the time and minimizes the complexity faced by the applicant. Once the boxes are correctly filled and the information therein is finalized, our system will immediately process the application and send a registration number via e-mail. The applicant should response by bringing the required paperwork to UPH Admission Center.?

Aure, UPH Manager of Student Recruitment, mentioned that, apart from getting the chance to register for free, the visitors were also keen to find out more terms and conditions of UPH?s scholarship program. Despite the strict regulations applied during the filtering process, more and more applicants have opted to try their hands on it. What?s more, this event was useful to promote the university?s name to the public.

?Generally viewed, more people have come to our booth compared to last year. I am hopeful they will decide to join UPH?. Elisa also added, that ?we are also inviting those who have come today to attend an Open Day event for UPH?s Faculty of Computer Sciences on Saturday, February 2, 2013?.

A unique sight was provided by the presence of a clown-figure that personalized Albert Einstein, the famous physicist, which always became a center of the visitors? attention throughout the exhibition. Some of them even posted the images of this Einstein-clown on their Twitter accounts. ?It?s a fun thing to do and, so, we are giving away souvenirs for those who have tweeted about UPH.? The booth was also one of the top three best performing booths in this exhibition. (rh)