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Reimagining borderless US-ASEAN education
Imagine an Indonesian student starting their academic career at home and continuing their program in the Philippines, to culminate in a doctoral degree in the US: This could be the future of borderless education.
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Over 8,300 new students form the emblem of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) at UGM’s Ghra Sabha Pramana Square on Aug. 12, 2017, during the closing ceremony of the weeklong student orientation. (Courtesy of Gadjah Mada University/file)
I
spent a week last month in Washington, DC, for the United States-ASEAN University Connection Initiative (UCI). Around 50 scholars and university administrators gathered in the US capital to discuss and promote educational collaboration between the two dialog partners.
The gathering followed US President Joe Biden’s view about ASEAN as an important region the US needed to collaborate with more intensively. The World Learning nonprofit organization created the UCI as part of its Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for US Students (IDEAS) program, with funding from the US Department of State.
Representing Indonesia were four academics who had been selected through a rigorous process: Rudianto from Muhammadiyah University North Sumatra, Diena Mutiara Lemy from Pelita Harapan University, Rini Rachmawaty from Hasanuddin University and myself, from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. We participated in our personal capacity.
Our participation was fully supported by the US Embassy in Jakarta, Education USA Indonesia, USAID and the US Consulate General in Medan, North Sumatra. During our stay in the US, the Indonesian Embassy provided us with immense support through the education and cultural attaché.
The UCI reminded me of two important issues I have been dealing with for the last 20 years: international borders and transnational education.
I started learning about international borders in 2003 through my involvement in a border demarcation project between Indonesia and Timor-Leste. I stayed around the border in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, for almost a month, establishing pillars and conducting a global positioning system (GPS) campaign. In short, I approached the border issue from a technical perspective as a geodetic surveyor.
I started with an understanding that borders are meant to divide. Borders are to exclude one from the other.
