The inaugural U.S.-Indonesia Higher Education Summit was held at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on Monday, October 31, 2011. The Summit was jointly hosted by the Government of the United States and the Government of Indonesia, and attended by more than 100 higher education leaders and government officials from the U.S. and Indonesia, as well as nonprofit and private sector leaders.
The objective of the Summit was to further strengthen higher education collaboration and exchange between institutions in the United States and Indonesia through the exploration of four main topics of mutual interest: higher education governance; innovation, research collaboration, and academic exchange; the community college model; and teacher preparation. The Summit highlighted the goals of the Higher Education Partnership, announced by Presidents Obama and Yudhoyono in 2010, which aims to increase the number of students and scholars studying and researching in both countries, and to strengthen educational equality through increased collaboration and partnership.
The Summit was opened by remarks from Ann Stock, Acting Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of State; Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education; and Mohammad Nuh, Minister of Education and Culture for the Government of Indonesia. Secretary Duncan also delivered closing remarks along with Djoko Santoso, Director General of Higher Education in Indonesia. Prominent higher education and thought leaders presented during a morning plenary session, including Jack Bermingham from Highline Community College, Supriadi Rustad from the Directorate General of Higher Education in Indonesia, and Director General Santoso. IIE’s Peggy Blumenthal, Senior Counselor to the President, presented on the topic of Innovation, Research Collaboration, and Academic Exchange. Afternoon breakout sessions focused on the four main focus topics and yielded fruitful discussions about sharing information, increasing academic collaboration, and developing partnership models.
For more information about the Summit, please go to: www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/10/176355.htm
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