Global competition requires everyone to be highly competent in various fields. Hence, it is important for educational institutions to shape society to be innovative and globally competitive. In order to achieve an international standard of higher education quality, the Food Technology Study Program under the Faculty of Science and Technology (FaST) Pelita Harapan University (UPH) has renewed its Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with The University of Newcastle (UON), New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday, March 31, 2022. This collaboration includes the implementation of the Dual Degree program.

The signing of this collaboration was carried out by the UON Prof. Caroline Chan as Pro Vice-Chancellor of Global Partnerships, Office of the DVC Global Engagement and Partnerships, and Prof. Christopher Scarlett as Assistant Dean of Global Engagement Transnational Education, and DR. (Hon.) Jonathan L. Parapak., M.Eng., Sc. as UPH Rector and Christine L. Sommers, Ph.D, RN, CNE as UPH Chief Academic Officer. Also attending the event were UON and other UPH personnel, namely Brett Sutcliffe as Manager of Transnational Education, International, and Advancement Division UON and Danny Lee Lian Fey, BBA, MA as Chief Growth Officer of UPH, along with the leadership board of UPH FaST.

Of course, in partnership, UPH focuses on working with partners who share the same vision and quality. As evidenced by its partnership with UON, which is a university that is ranked in the top 200 on the QS World Ranking with a focus on utilizing academic excellence, innovation, and creativity to provide benefits to society.

Welcoming this collaboration, Caroline said, “We chose UPH as a strategic partner because we share the same vision, which is to build and produce competent graduates who are ready to take part in the global arena. The program will also provide students with the opportunity to experience international education at UPH and UON. We hope that this collaboration can expand the capacity of the two universities, for lecturers and researchers in the form of research collaborations and scientific publications,” said Prof. Caroline.

In line with Prof. Caroline’s view, Prof. Chris Scarlett added that UPH is a quality educational institution with a good reputation. “We have a strategic priority to work with quality partners in the Asia Pacific region, one of which is UPH. The program that will be undertaken this time will be more relevant to the needs of the industrial world and of high quality. More than that, we also intend to provide global insight and experience for students through this program so that they are ready to become graduates who can meet the needs of the dynamic development of the food industry, “explained Prof. Chris.

The Rector of UPH gladly welcomed this collaboration and said that this program is one of the UPH’s strategies to continue developing the quality of education. “UPH will continue to develop curriculum that meet international standards. One of our efforts is of course partnering with some of the best universities in the world, such as University of Newcastle. This partnership is also a form of implementation of the Ministry of Education’s program, namely Merdeka Campus, which is carried out by UPH. We hope that our students will get an extraordinary experience from this Dual Degree program, so that their knowledge gained will be more relevant to the international industrial world,” said the UPH Rector.

The Dual Degree Program can help students who want to gain wider insight and expertise on an international scale. Students in the UPH-UON dual degree program will earn two degrees, namely S.T.P (Bachelor of Food Technology) and BFSHN (Bachelor of Food Science and Human Nutrition). UPH students will run it in a format where they spend their first 2.5 years at UPH, 1 year at UON, and then return to UPH for the final 6 months to 1 year to complete their studies.

A positive response was also conveyed by the Dean of UPH FaST, Eric Jobiliong, Ph.D, “International cooperation like this reflects the globalization of higher education at UPH which is in line with FaST’s vision and mission; from the aspect of intellect, skills, integrity of life, spirituality centered on God, with one of the missions to increase cooperation in teaching and research through the synergy of Study Programs with national and international institutions,” explained Eric who was also present at the signing ceremony.

UPH students have also succeeded in demonstrating their quality, one of which is Ludwina Eugenia, a 2018 UPH Food Technology Dual Degree program student who won an award as the ‘People’s Choice Winner’ in the international competition Food Expo 2020 held by UON, Australia.

Through various partnerships with companies, organizations, and other foreign universities, UPH continues to strive to develop transformative and relevant learning programs to produce quality graduates who are able to give a real contribution to the nation. Be a part of UPH right now! For more information, please contact Student Consultants at 0811-1709-901 or register here.