- kemdikbud.go.id
VIVA – The Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim established cooperation in education with the United Kingdom and the Northern Ireland governments with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU). He signed the MoU with UK Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan during a bilateral meeting.
The areas of cooperation agreed upon in the MoU include talent mobility, research exchange, joint publications, scholarships, and link and match between universities and industry.
During the discussion, which took place at the UK Department for Education office, the two ministers exchanged information regarding each country's focus and priorities in the education sector.
Nadiem Makarim in the working visit to United Kingdom
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The minister explained to Minister Keegan about the main focus of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology through Merdeka Belajar, which is to realize the direction of the president of the Republic of Indonesia to realize superior human resources.
Indonesia through various breakthroughs, including student exchange programs, scholarships sourced from education endowment funds, research development, utilization of technology in education, and the establishment of international campuses.
"In implementing Merdeka Belajar (Freedom in Learning), we emphasize the importance of social responsibility for the quality of education and the involvement of all stakeholders to make this policy a big movement," said Minister Makarim.
Furthermore, the Minister explained the main breakthroughs in higher education driven by the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka program.
"For the first time in Indonesia's history, undergraduate students have the opportunity to hone their skills according to their talents and interests by studying for a maximum of three semesters outside their study program. They can choose to do an internship, develop socio-entrepreneurship, or join the IISMA or IISMA Vocational student exchange program," explained the Minister.
Minister Keegan expressed his support for Merdeka Belajar's transformation by emphasizing the importance of connecting education with the needs of the industrial world.
According to him, the education sector and the industrial world need to strengthen each other to develop student skills and ensure that college graduates have relevant skills and knowledge. That way, college graduates will have high bargaining value in the labor market.
In addition to appreciating the transformation of the education system that has occurred in Indonesia through Merdeka Belajar, Minister Gillian also expressed her hope that the cooperation that has been going well between Indonesia and the UK can be even stronger in the future.
On the same occasion, Sir Steve Smith as the UK Government Education Champion also appreciated the efforts of the two countries in strengthening collaboration which was realized by the formulation of the MoU.
Minister Makarim emphasized that the Indonesian government welcomes cooperation with the UK government in various Merdeka Belajar programs to produce superior human resources who are ready to contribute to world progress.
