IPB University and WULS/SGGW Poland Establish Cooperation to Improve the Quality of Agriculture and Forestry Education
Department of Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry and Environment (Fahutan) IPB University, made an official visit to Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS/SGGW) Poland, recently.
This visit aims to build academic collaboration between the Faculty of Forestry WULS and Fahutan IPB University, with a focus on forest management, including decision support systems and community forestry.
Previously, IPB University has established a strategic partnership with WULS/SGGW, the best agricultural higher education institution in Poland since January 2023. This initiative is an important step to strengthen international educational relations, especially in the fields of agriculture and forestry.
Dr Soni Trison ( Chairman of Forest Management Department) and Dr Hendrayanto ( Chairman of Forest Management Science Graduate Study Program) as the IPB University delegation were warmly welcomed by Prof dr hab Marta Aleksandrowicz ( Dean of WULS Faculty of Forestry), dr hab Karol Bronisz ( Vice Dean and Chairman of the WULS Forest Management Department), and other leaders, including dr inż Michał Orzechowski (Vice Dean for Student Affairs), dr hab inż Roman Wójcik (Director of the WULS Institute of Forestry), and dr inż Wojciech Kędziora ( Vice Director of the WULS Institute of Forestry).
During the meeting, various opportunities for academic collaboration were discussed, including joint research in tropical and subtropical forestry. The meeting also discussed summer course programs to enrich the experience of students from both universities and the development of joint lecture programs such as double degree, cotutelle, or joint degree.
“One of the main objectives of this cooperation is to expand academic horizons in the field of forestry, with an emphasis on knowledge exchange on the management of Indonesian tropical forests and Polish subtropical forests,” said Dr Soni Trison.
Dr hab Karol Bronisz and Dr Hendrayanto expressed their hope that the double degree program would be supported through scholarships from the governments of both Indonesia and Poland.
“Hopefully, this cooperation will be able to provide wider opportunities for students to get a meaningful international education experience,” said Dr Hendrayanto.
This activity was also attended by Nugraha Akbar Nurrochmat, an alumnus of IPB University who is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at WULS. Nugraha, who also serves as Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Commission of the Indonesian Student Association (PPI) World, stated that this collaboration is expected to enrich the understanding of forestry science by studying the characteristics of two different types of forests: tropical forests in Indonesia and subtropical forests in Europe.
Nugraha added that Poland is one of the countries with the lowest cost of living in Europe, which is relatively equivalent to the cost of living in Jakarta. This is a distinct advantage that supports the potential sustainability of this cooperation.
Previously, the Faculty of Forestry of WULS had sent two lecturers to visit IPB University. In the near future, mgr inż Katarzyna Szyc from WULS is scheduled to visit Indonesia again to strengthen the follow-up of this cooperation.
Dr Michał Orzechowski also expressed his interest in the concept of social forestry in Indonesia, which is considered to have unique characteristics compared to forest management schemes in Poland.
With this cooperation, it is hoped that the relationship between IPB University and WULS will become closer and have a positive impact on the development of education and research in agriculture and forestry, both in Indonesia and Poland. (*/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)
