The Yogyakarta State University (YSU), represented by Prof. Suwarsih Madya, Ph.D., the Vice Rector for Partnership Affairs of YSU discussed possible partnership programs p with the University of Auckland (UoA), represented by Dr. John Hope, the Associate Dean International Programs. The discussion, which was held on Friday (1/11), explored the draft of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) which will be signed by the both universities.

The draft of the MoU contained some programs proposed by the officials in the Graduate Program of YSU. These programs were international journal reviewer, joint research, joint degree, sandwich-like program, guest lecturing, and student exchange. Besides, a crucial problem often faced by international students was also discussed, for example, the problem concerning social isolation. This problem often threatened students who could not escape from their loneliness when they were overseas for a long time and not able to adjust themselves to interact well in the new environment. Therefore, some international students could not pursue their study not because of their  lack of intellectual skills  but due to their psychological state.

The discussion also highlighted a program which was ready to be conducted soon by YSU and UoA, namely the sandwhich-like program for students of Natural Sciences Education and Applied Linguistics study programs of the Graduate Program at YSU. This program would involve some students in groups. Meanwhile, the cost limitation to join the program in New Zealand would be followed-up by the representatives of UoA so that YSU students could get partial financial supports. The MoU itself will be signed right after the program is started. Therefore, in realizing the program, the representatives of YSU will visit UoA at the end of November.

Dr. John Hope also gave some suggestions related to the cooperation in research projects. As stated by Prof. Saville Kushner, a practitioner on program and educational evaluation, UoA would focus on the culture of cooperation in conducting research. Therefore, it is expected that the research centers in YSU can build good coordination so that the research could give benefits to education. Dr. John Hope also added that UoA was willing to provide international reviewers for research journals written in English.

After the meeting, Dr. John Hope and Prof. Kushner headed to the Faculty of Languages and Arts to discuss a plan for a workshop on culture and arts with the Dean of the faculty, Prof. Dr. Zamzani. With this exploration of cooperation, the partnerships of YSU and UoA will hopefully soon be realized (yla).