30 June 2022

AUN-QA Courtesy Visit to Indonesia Series #3: Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang

By
Patitin Lertnaikiat
AUN Programme Officer;

The third and last destination of the AUN-QA Courtesy Visit was Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) on June 2, 2022. Established in 1964,  UMM became “the Best Islamic University in the World 2021” based on the UniRank version and the Best Private University in East Java version of the 4th International College & University. The institute provides comprehensive academic experience, supporting laboratories in various fields, from agriculture, business, health, and hospitality. The visit allowed the AUN-QA team to discuss with UMM on the benefits and challenges of programme assessments, the future plans post-pandemic, and the prospect of promoting future AUN events.

UMM Group Photo 1.jpg

The partnership between the AUN Secretariat and UMM has spanned for at least 5 years with programme assessments, projects, and activities. Up until 2021, AUN-QA has serviced UMM with 2 programme assessments with a total of 5 programs assessed. UMM’s first programme assessment with AUN-QA was conducted onsite in 2018, but assessments after the pandemic became online. As the last assessment in 2021 was online, the Courtesy Visit expressed our desire to return assessment services onsite and also aimed to strengthen the relationship between the AUN Secretariat and UMM.

UMM Group Photo 2.jpg

On the day of the visit, The AUN-QA team was warmly welcomed by the university and was given a tour around the expansive and beautiful campus grounds of UMM built upon Malang’s sweeping mountain hills. The team was driven around to be shown all the well-developed facilities, with very interesting ones of UMM such as a mini zoo for animal preservation, and their own restaurant built atop a cruise-boat like structure. Eventually, the AUN-QA team headed their way towards a large conference room where the main event of the Courtesy Visit took place. Here, the AUN-QA team had the honor to meet various UMM personnel, including the Dean, Rectors, Faculty members, UMM-QA, and Programme coordinators.

UMM Group Photo 3.jpg

The meeting commenced with Faculty members from programmes assessed by AUN-QA discussing the assessment process, both onsite from 2018 to online in 2021. UMM went into great detail such as staff members involved, resources utilized, and the timeline of the process.

During the conference, the Rector of UMM, Dr. Fauzan, M.Pd., also gave a speech where he said that he was proud of the hard work carried out by the UMM academic community in improving the quality and facilities for internationalization. These efforts will be a crucial point towards having UMM recognized internationally in competitiveness and quality. More from UMM can be read here.

After receiving all the highly appreciated feedback from the university, the team proceeded to inform UMM about upcoming AUN events of interest, notably:

  1. The AUN-QA Training Course for Accomplishing Programme Assessment
  2. Online Workshop on Writing Self-Assessment Report (SAR) for Successful AUN-QA Programme Assessment (Version 4.0)
  3. AUN-QA International Conference
  4. Global University Associations Forum (GUAF)
  5. Onsite AUN-QA Assessment at Programme Level
  6. Measuring and Comparing Achievements of Learning Outcomes in Higher Education in Asia (CALOHEA)

UMM Group Photo 4.jpg

UMM was pleased with the information of the upcoming events, all in which they expressed interest in participating and wished to receive further notifications of other opportunities in the future. The university found AUN-QA events beneficial for the programme assessments, and events such as CALOHEA and GUAF  with potential to help expand international relations for UMM. The meeting was followed shortly with a quick session of gift exchange and group photo to commemorate this special onsite event. The AUN-QA Courtesy Visit at UMM concluded with a luncheon  hosted at the university’s own restaurant for the AUN-QA team.

We at AUN-QA would like to extend our highest gratitude to UMM for the exceptional hospitality shown and the incredibly helpful feedback. And we also hope that the Courtesy Visit served as stepping stones to a closer partnership between the university and AUN-QA in the future.

UMM Group Photo 5.jpg

The conclusion of the visit to UMM marked the end of the AUN-QA team’s journey to Indonesia. We at the AUN Secretariat would like to express our highest gratitude to Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Universitas Surabaya (UBAYA), and Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) for all the warm welcome the AUN-QA team received throughout  the Courtesy Visit. We hope this event served as a cornerstone for stronger collaboration between AUN-QA and universities across Indonesia, a signifier that the AUN Secretariat is ready to return to onsite operation for its programs, events and activities in the future.