Faculty of Information Technology (FTI) of Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana (UKDW) Yogyakarta participated in the 4th meeting of the ASEAN-China Alliance for Private Higher Education Institutions (ACAPHEI) Forum, held at Sripatum University, Bangkok, Thailand, on November 14-15, 2024. ACAPHEI, which stands for the ASEAN-China Alliance for Private Higher Education Institutions, holds an annual meeting to discuss various current issues and explore potential collaborative activities among its members. Supported by SEAMEO RIHED, the 4th ACAPHEI meeting carried the theme “Fostering ASEAN-China Collaboration for Sustainable Business Practices.”
In a virtual address, the Chairperson of ACAPHEI and Rector of Sanya University, Hainan, Prof. Lu Dan, urged ACAPHEI members to seriously implement sustainable development programs (SDGs). Prof. Lu Dan also emphasized the importance of collaborative activities among ACAPHEI members to support the Bangkok Declaration, which outlines the duration of ACAPHEI programs as five years.
During the forum, FTI UKDW, represented by Dean Dr. Restyandito, signed an Implementation Agreement (IA) with the School of Technology and Information Myanmar University (STIMU) and Xiangsihu College of Guangxi Minzu University (XCGMU), China. Under the IA, the three universities agreed to conduct joint online courses on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for five years. “The AI course, taught by FTI UKDW in collaboration with STIMU and XCGMU, was offered during the 2023 academic year. Based on the ACAPHEI evaluation, the collaboration was deemed successful and extended for another five years. This year, the AI class was attended by 124 students from various ACAPHEI member universities,” said Dr. Restyandito.
He added, “In the future, FTI UKDW may offer other courses in areas such as IoT, augmented reality, metaverse, and UI/UX, in line with our strengths.” Additionally, FTI UKDW has begun initial discussions about potential collaborations with universities from the Philippines, China, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Also present at the forum was Dr. Phil. Lucia D. Krisnawati, Head of the Office of Partnerships and Public Relations at UKDW, who is also a faculty member at FTI UKDW. She was invited to share her expertise in a session on Digital Transformation for Sustainability.
In her presentation, Lucia provided examples of digital transformation at UKDW, where the university has transitioned from manual to digital processes, not only in teaching methods but also in operational and administrative activities such as the development of Siteliti, Publikasi, Sipresen, and SIKERMA.
Lucia emphasized that digital transformation in private higher education institutions should also support the sustainability of partnerships with national and international partners. “International partnerships are often tied to university leadership. When there is a change in leadership, the continuity of collaborations is often disrupted. To minimize this, it is essential to store information about the partner contact persons in a database, making it easier for new leadership to continue communication and collaboration,” she explained.
The ACAPHEI meeting concluded with the signing of a partnership agreement with new members, including private universities from Cambodia and China. [FTI.ldk/trans.drr]