ULM heading towards a world-class campus with international accreditation

ULM Rector Prof Ahmad Alim Bachri hands over an appreciation to the Provincial Government of South Kalimantan for the grant assistance handed over by the province's Regional Secretary Roy Rizali Anwar representing Governor Sahbirin Noor. (ANTARA/Firman)

Banjarbaru, S Kalimatan (ANTARA) - The University of Lambung Mangkurat (ULM) in South Kalimantan is now heading towards a world-class campus by applying international accreditation for a number of superior undergraduate (S1) study programs to improve the quality of learning to be more competitive at the global competition.

"A total of nine study programs are in the process of applying and assessing for international accreditation," said Rector of ULM Prof Ahmad Alim Bachri to ANTARA after an open senate session at the ULM's 65th Anniversary in Banjarbaru, Thursday.

Four of the study programs have gone through visitation stage of the ASIIN (Accreditation Agency for Degree Programs In Engineering Informatics/Computer Science, The Natural Sciences and Mathemathics) team, namely Soil Science, Agribusiness, Agriculture Industry Technology, and Forestry.

ASIIN is a German international accreditation institution for the disciplines of engineering, mathematics and science, agriculture, biology.

Four other study programs were submitted to obtain international accreditation from Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA), a European accreditation agency based in Switzerland.

One other study program is trying to gain international accreditation from Indonesian Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (IABEE), which accredits study program that provide undergraduate degrees in engineering and computing.

Alim requires that by 2024 at least two study programs at every faculty obtain international accreditation.

ULM has two D3 (associate degree) study programs, 64 for undergraduate (S1), 24 for masters (S2), seven doctoral study programs, as well as five professional education study programs, and six for specialist education, 33 percent of them having A and Superior accreditation.

He wants ULM as the best and the largest public university in Kalimantan Island to be accredited A with a total of 30,379 students and is among the elite national campuses starting steps forward on international stage.

ULM intensively collaborates with various countries in the Southeast Asian region, one of which is providing lectures to students from Davao, Philippine, in a scholarship program for overseas students.

"Our target is 100 foreign students studying at ULM, both regular lectures and exchange programs," he said.

Also present at the ULM's 65th Dies Natalis was Director General of Forestry Planology and Environmental Management at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, an alumnus of ULM Faculty of Forestry, as an honor guest.

Then the Regional Secretary of South Kalimantan Province Roy Rizali Anwar, who represented Governor Sahbirin Noor, to hand over regional government grant assistance worth IDR3,344,000,000 to ULM.