Austria opens its new ‘green’ embassy

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tue, 11/29/2011

For a bright future: Austrian Ambassador to Indonesia Klaus Wolfer
(second left) gestures as he gives his opening statement accompanied
 by Austrian State Secretary for European and International Affairs. Wolfgang
 Waldner (right) while Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s American and Europe
 Affairs director general Retno L.P. Marsudi (second right) looks on at the
 reception of Austrian Day at the Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Hotel in Jakarta
on Monday. JP/ Jerry Adiguna

Hundreds of guests strolled into the spacious ballroom at Hotel Indonesia-Kempinski in Central Jakarta to celebrate Austria’s national day and the official opening of the new “green” embassy building.

Austrian Ambassador to Indonesia Klaus Wolfer and his wife greeted guests, including Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry director general for American and European affairs Retno L.P. Marsudi and other diplomats from foreign representative offices in Jakarta.

Visiting Austrian State Secretary for European and International affairs Wolfgang Waldner also attended the ceremony.

Wolfer said that Austria had officially opened its new “green” embassy in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Monday morning.

“Jakarta should be the place that will go beyond the normal routine to establish low-energy housing in tropical climates,” Wolfer told The Jakarta Post during the ceremony.He said that the embassy was installed with instruments to prevent heat. “We applied solar panels in the building to save energy.”

Wolfer added that the new two-story building could reduce the wasted energy from 100 percent to only 17 percent.He said that Jakarta was the pilot project for the green type embassy building which would possibly

apply in other countries.

Waldner also said that Austria and Indonesia’s foreign ministers had signed an agreement about student exchanges on Monday morning.

“We are planning to send 10 post-graduate Indonesian students to Austria next year,” he told the Post, adding that there will be two-way exchanges in the future.

He said that at present the student exchange program would only be for postgraduate students of mathematics and natural sciences.

“We will send Indonesian students to some universities in Vienna and in the future we will send Austrian students to the Bandung Institute of Technology and Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta,” Wolfer added.(drs)

No cuts in scholarship allocations for Indonesians: Netherlands

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 11/01/2011

The Netherlands has no plans to cut the portion of scholarships it has been allocating for Indonesians despite the debt crisis currently plaguing the Eurozone, a Dutch official said here on Tuesday.

“Don't worry about budgets. We're still offering wide opportunities for Indonesians who want to study in the Netherlands,” Nuffic NESO Indonesia director Mervin Bekker told a press gathering in Jakarta.

Nuffic Neso Indonesia is the official representative of Nuffic -the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education- in Indonesia; for all matters concerning Dutch higher education.

Bekker said the Dutch government was even planning to further expand its partnership with Indonesian education institutions.

He said the Netherlands considered Indonesia important in its international education cooperation policy, citing127 partnerships that had been established between Dutch and Indonesian higher education institutions, 22 percent of which covered student exchanges and 19 percent were in the form of research partnerships, Antara news agency reported.

Australia-Indonesia Institute inviting applicants for Youth Exchange Program

Antara News, Tue, August 9 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII) invites applications from young Australians aged between 21 and 25 years willing to represent Australia for two months in Indonesia during December 2011 to February 2012 as members of the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP).

The program aims to provide wider opportunities for young people from Indonesia and Australia to appreciate the culture, development and way of life of each other`s country, the Australian embassy said in a pres statement here on Tuesday.

It is also expected to build groups of young and potentially influential people in both Australia and Indonesia who have knowledge and personal experience of the two countries and who develop close and enduring links with each other.

Participants will be chosen from applicants undertaking tertiary studies or employed in any one or more of the areas such as agriculture, arts, music, Asian Studies, economics, business, International Relations, education, engineering, science, environmental management, journalism, sports, tourism and hospitality.

A good level of Indonesian language is desirable though not essential as the program makes allowances for some participants to learn the language during the period of the exchange.

The Indonesian AIYEP participants are due to arrive in Australia in October 2011, and the closing date for applications is on 30 August 2011.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

2m poor elementary students to get scholarships

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Wed, 07/27/2011

The National Education Ministry says it has allocated Rp 762.2 billion (US$89.9 million) this year for BSM-SD scholarships for about 2.04 million poor elementary school students nationwide.

Students from first to fifth grade will be entitled to the scholarships, which are worth Rp 360,000 per student and will be disbursed between July and December.

Ministry director for elementary schools Ibrahim Bafadal said Tuesday in Jakarta the scholarships were meant to help poor parents purchase stationery, uniforms and other school-related items for their children.

School operating costs, meanwhile, are covered by the School Operational Aid (BOS) funding program, Ibrahim said.

The numbers of students to be granted scholarships in each municipality/regency has been set based on several indicators such as poverty levels and geographical conditions, he added.

“Each municipality and regency will then select schools that will receive BSM-SD scholarships. Then a team will be sent to ask for a list of the students that have been nominated to receive the scholarships at each school,” Ibrahim said as quoted by kompas.com.

Over 500 Indonesian students head to the Netherlands

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 07/25/2011

Over 500 Indonesian students will leave for the Netherlands in pursuit of higher education, according to the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta on Monday.

“Through education, I am optimistic that the bilateral relationship between the two countries will be improved,” Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Tjeerd F. de Zwaan said in a press statement as quoted by Antara news agency.

The statement says that the students include recipients of Dutch government-sponsored scholarships, namely StuNed, the Netherlands Fellowship Program and the Huygens Scholarship Program.

There are also recipients of Erasmus Mundus and Ford Foundation scholarships as well as those sponsored by the Indonesian Communications and Information Ministry, National Education Ministry and National Development Planning Ministry.

Data from Nuffic Neso Indonesia shows that 65 percent of the students will be pursuing Master's degrees while 28 percent are in undergraduate programs, Antara reported.

On Saturday, Zwaan, Nuffic Neso Indonesia director Marrik Bellen and the Indonesian Foreign Ministry director for Western Europe, Dewa Made Juniarta Sastrawan, officially bid the students farewell in an event in Jakarta, the statement said.

Dutch govt to extend grant program for Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 07/05/2011

The Dutch government will continue to provide a grant program for Indonesia when the current grant package ends this year, a visiting Dutch minister said Monday.

The Dutch State Secretary for the European Union and Development Cooperation, Ben Knapen, said in Jakarta on Monday that the next three-year grant program, which would begin next year and last until 2015, would cover economic and social sectors such as sustainable trade, water infrastructure development, reforestation and higher education, capacity building, especially in the legal field.

Knapen said the Netherlands had not decided yet how much money would be involved should grants be involved in the cooperation.

“However, if you look at past experiences of the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands, some 53 million euros [US$77 million] is involved on a yearly basis,” Knapen said.

Knapen said that previous cooperation agreements with Indonesia had been done mostly through multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

“We are planning to gradually change that into a direct cooperation, country-to-country,” Knapen told reporters at a press conference at the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) office in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

According to Knapen, in the coming years, the Netherlands intends to intensify its cooperation with Indonesia in the areas where the Indonesian people really need it and at the same time the Netherlands can provide them.

“For us, it’s very important that we invest in a way that creates pockets of economic growth,” he said.

According to Knapen, one of the priorities in the cooperation will be in the field of water infrastructure development. “We see a demand for water infrastructure in Indonesia,” he said.

“We have a long history of trying to keep our feet dry as half of our country is below sea level. We feel familiar with this issue and maybe we can bring something to the table,” he added.

Bappenas head and National Development Planning Minister Armida Alisjahbana, also speaking at the press conference, said that Knapen was referring to a plan by the Indonesian government and the Jakarta administration to develop a dike system, similar to that in the Netherlands, in the Jakarta Bay to prevent seawater from the Java Sea from flooding North Jakarta.

“One goal of the cooperation would be for a dike system on Jakarta’s coastline,” Armida said, adding that she believed the Netherlands would be a perfect partner in developing a dike system in Jakarta as the country already had its own dike system, which had been proven to be very effective at preventing flooding.

Armida said that several ongoing cooperation programs with the Netherlands that had been in place for years would also be continued, including in the provision of the Nuffic Neso higher education scholarship programs, as well as in the fields of law and good governance.

“The bilateral cooperation in law was based on the fact that Indonesia has so many laws that were inherited from the Dutch colonial era,” Armida said.

“We have some common heritage when it comes to law, rules, and regulations,” Knapen said. “I believe we can help each other in making progress on this issue.” (mim)

ANTARA journalists join multimedia training in Netherlands

Antara News, Wed, June 22 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A number of ANTARA journalists will attend a multimedia journalism training in the Netherlands under the StuNed scholarship provided by the Nuffic-Neso and the Dutch government.

To mark the beginning of the training program, Indonesian Nuffice-Neso scholarship coordinator Indy Hartono handed the scholarships to the ANTARA CEO Ahmad Mukhlis Yusuf here in Jakarta, Wednesday.

The training is scheduled to be held on June 27 - July 15, 2011 at the Radio Netherlands Training Center (RNTC), Hilversum, the Netherlands, aimed to increase ANTARA journalists` professional skills.

In the training, the participants would also have the chance to visit the Netherlands news agency Algemeen Nederlands Persbureu (ANP).

"RNTC is a training facility designed for journalists, the fourth opportunity for Indonesian journalists to participate in the event at RNTC with different topics according to the necessary needs," Indy said in her opening remarks.

Indy also said that StuNed supports journalists` capacity building to promote democracy.

"By studying at RNTC, the participants would not only learn theory but also to practice with proper equipment," Indy said.

The 16 participants in the three weeks training from from ANTARA News Agency are active journalists and one manager of ANTARA Journalism School (LPJA).

Besides the Jakarta based ANTARA journalists, there are also several those from bureaus attending this training such as from Pontianak, Makassar and Denpasar.

Upon their return from the Netherlands, they are expected to apply what they have gained there to develop antaranews.comportal, including the enrichment of content and sections within it.

In the long run, the knowledge gained will be disseminated through training courses organized by LPJA, particularly in the multimedia journalism field.

On that occasion, ANTARA CEO Ahmad Mukhlis Yusuf welcomed the training as an endeavor to strengthen ANTARA as a multimedia news agency.

"Besides the training, it is also expected to reinforce the mindset that is needed to manage the current media, supported by the latest IT infrastructure, the discipline of media players, and network expanding" he said.

With the LPJA manager attending the training, it is also expected that the training methodology can be an additional reference for the management of multimedia journalism education in ANTARA.

ANTARA News Agency also thanked NESO for their cooperation and the scholarships, the program might be continued each year, and involve the PWI (Indonesia Press Association), Press Council and other journalist organizations, ANTARA is ready to help facilitate, Mukhlis said.

Nuffic Neso Indonesia is a non-profit organization officially designated and funded by the Dutch government to deal with various matters relating to the Dutch higher education.

StuNed, stands for Studeren in Nederland, or study in the Netherlands, is a scholarship program that is part of the development cooperation policy of the Dutch government which aims to support the achievement of the "UN Millennium Development Goals" in 2015.

Editor: Bambang

Indonesian students have widest opportunities in New Zealand universities

Antara News, Fri, June 17 2011

Makassar, S Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Indonesian students have wider opportunities to study at various universities in New Zealand, an Indonesian official said here on Thursday.

Indonesian Ambassador to New Zealand Antonius Agus Triyono said many leading universities there offer wide opportunities for Indonesian students to study so long as they meet the admission requirements.

"There is no limit so long as they meet the admission requirements," Antonius said, adding that the universities in New Zealand are interested in more foreign students, especially from Indonesia.

According to him, there are more Malaysian and Vietnamese students there than those from Indonesia, and therefore he encouraged Indonesian students to study in the neighboring country.

"My job is to encourage as many Indonesian students as possible to study at New Zealand`s universities because the situation and the quality of education there is very good," Antonius said after a meeting with South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo.

The Indonesian ambassador to New Zealand met with the South Sulawesi governor to convey the offer of cooperation in education from Massey University.

Antonius said the university was offering three schemes of cooperation in diploma three program for nursing education with the students from South Sulawesi.

The cooperation was then signed by the South Sulawesi governor with first scheme is for the students who have finished the second year of nursing school in Makassar can continue the third year at Massey University in New Zealand and then to have an opportunity to work there for one to two years.

"The second scheme covers nursing students exchange program and the third is "sandwich program" or postgraduate program," said the Indonesian ambassador to New Zealand.

Editor: Bambang

Applications for 2012 Australian development scholarships now open

Antara News, Mon, June 6 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Australian Government is pleased to announce that applications for Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) are now open, the Australian Embassy here said in a media release on Monday.

The program will offer up to 400 scholarships to Indonesians to study for Masters or Doctorate degrees in Australia and whose studies contribute to Indonesia`s progress.

Australia`s ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty, said the Australian Development Scholarships have been an important component of the Australian Government`s overseas aid program to Indonesia since 1950s.

"Australian Development Scholarships aim to contribute to long-term human resource development goals in Indonesia and to strengthen people-to-people links between our two countries," said Ambassador Moriarty.

Australian Development Scholarships are targeted at advancing development priorities which are set each year by Australia and Indonesia. In 2012, these include Sustainable Growth and Economic management; Democracy, Justice and Good Governance; Investing in People; and Safey and Peace.

"This program is conducted in close partnership with the Indonesian government. The impact of the program is visible through the thousands of ADS alumni who have returned to Indonesia and contributed to Indonesia`s progress," said the ambassador.

An equal number of scholarships will be allocated to men and women and up to 30 per cent to people from East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, Papua, West Papua and Aceh, the focus areas for Australia`s aid program.

Applications for the 2012 intake close on August 26, 2011.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

Australian govt expands bridge school partnership program

Antara News, Wed, June 1 2011 

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Australia`s Ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty, on Wednesday announced the continuation of the Australia-Indonesia Building Relations through Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement (BRIDGE) program, the Australian embassy said in its media release on Wednesday.

The ambassador announced the program during a visit to SMAN 15 Surabaya, one of the first Indonesian schools to join the program in 2008.

"Australia is committed to building stronger people-to-people links between Australian and Indonesian schools to increase knowledge and understanding of our two countries," said Ambassador Moriarty.

This new $3.6 million, five-year program will forge more than 80 new school partnerships and involve more than 3,500 Australian and Indonesian teachers and more than 100,000 students through information technology, social networking tools, school visits and on-line training sessions. Four schools from Surabaya, Malang and Kediri have joined the new program, bringing the total number of BRIDGE schools in East Java to fourteen.

"The BRIDGE program has worked with the private sector and communities to deliver education benefits to thousands of teachers and students in Australia and Indonesia. The first phase of BRIDGE built people-to-people links between more than 90,000 Australian and Indonesian students and thousands of teachers," said Ambassador Moriarty.

"Being a part of BRIDGE has been a great benefit to our school. It has meant our students have been more motivated to learn English and are able to use ICT more confidently. Our students are looking forward to visiting our partner school Kormilda College in Darwin later this year to share and participate in learning and cultural activities," said SMAN 15 BRIDGE teacher Ali Gufron.

The program is funded by the Australian Government in partnership with The Myer Foundation and delivered by the Asia Education Foundation and Australia-Indonesia Institute.

The new program will be run in 12 Indonesian provinces and 8 Australian states and territories.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

US ambassador meets with Indonesian diplomats selected for scholarship program

Antara News, Wed, May 25 2011 

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Ambassador Scot Marciel recently hosted a group of young Indonesian diplomats selected to participate in the Fulbright-KEMLU Scholarship Program at his residence prior to their departure for the United States.

Scot Marciel. (ANTARA)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Center for Education and Training in cooperation with the American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF) offers the Fulbright-KEMLU Scholarships to junior diplomats to earn a Master`s degree in the U.S. in any field of study at the discretion of KEMLU, the US Embassy here said in its official website on Wednesday.

This coming year, six young diplomats have been selected to study under the program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Georgetown University, Clark University, the University of Chicago and Denver University.

The Fulbright-KEMLU Scholarship Program represents just one of many efforts under the Comprehensive Partnership designed to strengthen bilateral collaboration on a broad range of issues in order to promote peace, stability, and economic prosperity, not only for the United States and Indonesia, but also regionally and globally.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Indonesian students, scholars sent to US under Fulbright program

Antara News, Thu, May 19 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Ambassador Scot Marciel, Deputy Minister of Education Fasli Jalal and former Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dorojatun Kuntoro Jakti opened the Annual American Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF) Fulbright Pre-Departure Orientation here last Friday.

This year`s pre-departure orientation and networking event brought together the largest group of Fulbright programs in AMINEF`s 19 year history and Fulbright`s 59 year history in Indonesia, according to the US Embassy here in its official website on Thursday.

The conference which included 204 Indonesian Fulbright and other related programs candidates and 20 American grantees is designed to establish fundamental understanding of the vision and mission of the Fulbright program among the Indonesian candidates and American grantees.

It is also designed to prepare the Indonesian candidates for their upcoming academic programs in the United States.

While this year is historic in numbers, the U.S. Embassy is looking forward to celebrating AMIEF`s 20 year anniversary next year and the 60th anniversary of Fulbright in Indonesia.

Editor: Ella Syafputri

Chinese government offering scholarships to Indonesian students

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 05/10/2011

The Chinese government is offering hundreds of scholarships to Indonesian students looking to engage in undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies in China beginning in September 2011.

“The Chinese government has prepared several scholarships for several programs through the China Scholarship Council, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education as well as reputable universities in the country,” Chaerun Anwar, Education Attache at the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, said Tuesday.

He added that the Indonesian Embassy was planning to provide hundreds of scholarships in 2012 for graduate and doctoral studies.

“The amount and period is still unknown. But, we will put it into action for sure because this is a form of cooperation we have with China in the field of education,” he said as reported by kompas.com.

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Indonesian tycoon donates $1m to U.C. Berkeley

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 04/27/2011

The owner of Mayapada group and one of Indonesia's most renowned tycoons, Tahir, has recently donated US$ 1 million to the University of California, Berkeley.

Receiving the donation was the university chancellor, Robert J Birgeneau.

Tahir said the donation was expected to be used to assist Indonesian students currently studying at Berkeley who were facing financial problems.

“With this fund, I hope I can do something to help our students to continue their studies at Berkeley,” Tahir said Wednesday.

He added that it was his duty as a member of the university’s board of trustees to make the donation.

“In fact, I am the only Asian on the board now,” he said.

When asked about how many Indonesian students might benefit from the funds, Tahir said he had no idea, adding that the technical details of its provision had been left to the university management.

Japan offers research scholarships to Indonesian students

Antara News, Mon, April 11 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Japanese government is offering Monbukagakusho scholarships to Indonesian students who wish to participate in research programs in 2012, according to a press release issued the Japanese embassy in Jakarta.

During their studies, students would be allowed to apply to degree programs, namely master, doctoral and professional graduate courses. They can also continue the doctoral degree program after finishing the master or professional graduate course. However, the latter offer is applicable only to students who can pass the examination held by the related university.

Among the requirements that must be met to apply for the scholarship program are ; the participants must born during or after April2, 1977, has the university grade of minimum 3.0 or Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students with minimum score of 260 in two subjects excluding the Japanese language.

The student must have a TOEFL score of minimum 550 or equivalent and surpass the Japanese Language Test at level 2.

The application form for the scholarship can be taken freely at the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta, Japanese Consulate in Surabaya and Medan. The form can also be downloaded at the official website of the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta http://www.id.emb-japan.go.jp.

All documents must be submitted directly or through mail not later than May 11, 2011.

Universities in Japan keeps holding study and research activities despite the recent devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country last March 11.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

U.S. to accommodate 15,000 Indonesian students

English.news.cn   2011-04-04

JAKARTA, April 4 (Xinhua) - The government of the United States intends to accommodate 15,000 Indonesian students to study in the country through its ACCESS America Higher Education Forum held on Monday, Kompas.com online news reported Monday.

The program is a comprehensive cooperation in educational field that has been agreed by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the U.S. President Barack Obama in Nov. 2010.

"Last year, President Obama intended to multiply Indonesian students to the U.S. and now we want to support and to organize the plan," U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco J. Sanchez told the press.

He said that the forum themed "Advancing U.S. - Indonesia Higher Education Exchanges and Partnerships" will help students to register and to make them easier to get visa to the United States.

The U.S. Ambassador for Indonesia Scott Marciel said that the forum is a big opportunity for educational institutions in both countries to dig their potentials.

Based on data, there were 7,000 Indonesian students studied in the United States in 2009/2010.

Editor: Xiong Tong          

Australia offers 400 scholarships to E. Nusa Tenggara

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 03/25/2011

The Australian government is offering up to 400 postgraduate scholarships exclusively to residents of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara.

“This year we are offering 400 scholarships, for master's and doctoral degrees, to East Nusa Tenggara,” Australia Awards Promotion coordinator Nunik Kristiani said Friday in Kupang, the provincial capital.

Nunik made the statement after a meeting with East Nusa Tenggara Governor Frans Lebu Raya, during which she asked for the latter's permission to promote the program, as well as his support.

“We hope people in East Nusa Tenggara are interested in pursuing postgraduate studies,” Nunik said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

She said East Nusa Tenggara was Australia's top priority in its scholarship program aimed at Indonesians.

Nunik said a three-month English course would be provided for interested applicants.

Universities in Riau sign MoU with Jordanian university

Rizal Harahap, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Tue, 03/15/2011

Three universities in Riau Province hammered out a cooperation agreement in language education with Al Isra’ University in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday.

The cooperation will include an exchange program of Indonesian language lecturers from three universities and Arabic language lecturers from the Jordanian counterpart.

Among the signatories of the MoU were Islamic University of Riau rector Detri Karya, Lancang Kuning University of Pekanbaru rector Sudi Fahmi, State Islamic Sultan Syarif Qasim University of Pekanbaru rector assistant Munzir Fahmi and Al Iqra’ University of Amman rector Nu’man Ahmad Al Khatib

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US universities hold US education fair in Jakarta, Medan, Semarang, Surabaya

Antara News, Tue, February 22 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - U.S. Ambassador Scot Marciel, here, Sunday (Feb. 20) spoke at the Spring 2011 EducationUSA Fair, held in partnership with 38 prominent U.S. educational institutions.

U.S. Ambassador Scot Marciel (Antara)

The EducationUSA Fair, which was open to the public, included university representatives and presentations on "Study in the USA" and the student visa application process, a press statement of the US Embassy in Jakarta, said here, Tuesday.

The EducationUSA Fair started on Sunday, February 20 in Jakarta, followed by events in Medan on February 22, Semarang on February 24, and Surabaya on February 26 before concluding in Denpasar on February 28.

Attendees will be able to meet university representatives and follow activities through EducationUSA`s website and social media channels, including Facebook, Skype, and Twitter.

The EducationUSA Fair is an annual advising activity coordinated by AMINEF/EducationUSA that provides accurate and impartial information on studying in the United States by facilitating direct interaction between students and university representatives.

This Fair also enhanced students` exposure to the thousands of possibilities of majors, programs, scholarships and assistantship opportunities available at U.S. academic institutions.

The Fair is part of AMINEF`s EducationUSA initiative to contribute to the goals set forth in the Comprehensive Partnership agreement between the governments of the Republic of Indonesia and the United States of America to double the number of Indonesians studying in the U.S. in the next five years.

During the Fair, representatives of the U.S. Embassy Consular Office provided information on the visa application process.

The Consular section welcomes student visa applications and has made the application process as easy as possible. Student visa applicants are guaranteed an appointment on any Monday the Embassy is open.

The Education USA website at www.educationusa.or.id provides more details of the visit agenda along with additional information on universities, courses, and studying in the United States.

Editor: Priyambodo

Indonesians Receive Australian Scholarships

Antara News, Fri, February 04 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Australian Government has awarded scholarships to seventeen high achieving Indonesians to continue their study or research program in Australia and eight Australians to conduct research in Indonesia under the 2011 Endeavour Awards program.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty honoured the scholarship recipients in an awards ceremony in Jakarta on 2 February and launch the "Endeavours of Excellence - 60 years of scholarship in South and South East Asia" publication.

"Australia is very proud of these high achieving Endeavour Award recipients who we believe will continue to strengthen the professional and personal linkages between Australia and Indonesia," said Ambassador Moriarty as quoted in a press statement posted on the official website of the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Friday.

The Endeavour Awards is part of the Australia Awards initiative, an international scholarship scheme that supports students, researchers and professionals to study in Australia and for Australians to study, research and to undertake professional development overseas.

Rachmad Hidayat, a recipient of the 2011 Prime Minister`s Australia Asia Endeavour Award and currently a senior lecturer at the Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga, said an overseas academic experience is very important in broadening the viewpoint and attitude in critical thinking and analysis.

The "Endeavour of Excellence" publication celebrates the education ties between Australia and its regional neighbours featuring the achievements of Australian alumni from South and South-East Asia over a period of 60 years.

"The book highlights the importance of education in strengthening the people-to-people links, through intellectual exchange, cultural understanding and enduring friendships," added Ambassador Moriarty.

A number of prominent Indonesians are profiled in the publication including Dr Ir Hartarto Sastrosoenarto AO, who served under three Indonesian Presidents from 1983 to 1999; Abdullah Alamudi, a leading voice in Indonesia?s fight for freedom of the press; and Mira Lesmana, a celebrated and well-known member of the arts industry.

Editor: AA Ariwibowo