FDIKOM proposing lecturer exchange program with universities in the US

FIDK,UIN News Online – The Cultural Attache of the US Embassy in Jakarta, Emily Yasmin Norris, visited  the Da'wah and Communication Science Faculty of (FDIK) UIN Jakarta. Accompanied by Alison McKee, Regional Public Engagement Specialist (REPS), and a number of other US Embassy staff, her visit were warmly welcomed the Dean of FDIK Suparto, accompanied by Deputy Dean for General Administration Sihabudin Noor and the Deputy Dean for Student Affairs Cecep Castrawijaya on Thursday (01/13/2022).

“We purposely visited this faculty for many possibilities, such as building cultural and communication collaborations between many universities in the US and UIN Jakarta. We have a lot of experts in the field of communication, which may be needed to build mass media literacy in Indonesia,” said Emily.

During the meeting, Suparto offered the idea of lecturer exchange programs between universities in the two countries. The scheme is that FDIK UIN Jakarta lecturers teach one semester at universities in the US, while lecturers from the relevant universities also teach one semester at UIN Jakarta.

“We will choose lecturers who are fluent in English and highly committed to strengthening cultural cooperation between the two countries,” said Suparto.

He also proposed a student exchange program from both countries. Technically, some UIN Jakarta students are sent to the US to stay during the summer vacation with their host families there, whereas some US college students are also sent to Indonesia to stay with host families here during the summer holidays.

“We can appoint the winner of the “Sakinah Family” competition organized by the Indonesian Ministry of Affairs to become the host family for US students,” he said.

In response, Emily stated that Suparto's proposal was a good idea that was very likely to be followed up. Moreover, she also sees that Indonesia will soon face the 2024 General Election, which allows many hoaxes to circulate on social media ahead of the campaign. “In such conditions, it is certainly necessary to strengthen mass media literacy,” said Emily.

For information, the visit of the US Embassy Cultural Attache team was part of a visit to the American Corner (Amcor) of UIN Jakarta. At Amcor, Emily and the team were met by the Head of the Center for International Cooperation Services (PLKI) UIN Jakarta, Dadi Darmadi, Head of the UIN Jakarta Library Center Amrullah Hasbana, Director of Amcor UIN Jakarta, Helmi Hidayat, and the Program Coordinator of Amcor UIN Jakarta, Fajar Maulana. (fidk/sy/usa)