UKDW Welcomes UKI Tomohon Faculty of Theology to Explore Strategic Collaboration
Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana (UKDW) Yogyakarta welcomed an official visit from the Faculty of Theology of Universitas Kristen Indonesia (UKI) Tomohon on Wednesday, August 20, 2025. The meeting, held at the Rev. Dr. Harun Hadiwijono Seminar Room, marked an important moment to strengthen ties among Christian universities in Indonesia and open new opportunities for strategic collaboration.
The UKI Tomohon delegation was led by Rector Dr. Sandra A. Korua, accompanied by the Vice Rector for Student Affairs, the Dean and Vice Dean II of the Faculty of Theology, the heads of undergraduate and graduate programs, and faculty members.
UKDW Rector Dr.-Ing. Wiyatiningsih, warmly welcomed the visit and presented recent developments at UKDW, including the construction of the second campus in Sedayu, which will house the Faculty of Medicine. She also emphasized that UKDW currently has seven faculties that actively foster cross-disciplinary collaboration.
“We hope this visit will open wider spaces for collaboration. No institution can move forward alone—we need to work hand in hand for collective progress,” she said.
In response, the Rector of UKI Tomohon expressed her appreciation for UKDW’s warm reception and recognition for the university’s rapid growth.
“We hope this visit can be followed up with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), particularly to support joint development of the Faculty of Theology,” she stated.
Discussions between the two institutions unfolded dynamically, covering a wide range of strategic topics, including quality assurance in higher education, contextual theology curriculum development, academic information systems, spiritual formation, and internationalization efforts.
Dean of UKDW’s Faculty of Theology, Rev. Dr. Robert Setio, highlighted the importance of maintaining quality in private higher education while also making theology attractive to future students. He explained UKDW’s distinctive integrative approach to theology—combining academic rigor with spirituality—supported by faculty members from 12 church synods.
“We see strength in uniting academic and spiritual dimensions. For example, we provide a dedicated dormitory for theology students to support their character formation and spiritual growth,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Dean of UKI Tomohon’s Faculty of Theology, Rev. Dr. Denny A. Taruming, stressed the need to improve both faculty and student quality, and called for collaboration in curriculum development, joint research, and faculty exchanges.
On the information technology side, UKDW’s Vice Rector for Student Affairs, Alumni, Information, and Innovation, Dr. Parmonangan Manurung, presented UKDW’s integrated information system satu.ukdw.ac.id, which unifies more than 30 subsystems under a single sign-on platform to enhance transparency and efficiency. UKDW also expressed its readiness to assist UKI Tomohon in developing similar systems.
UKI Tomohon’s Vice Rector III, Rev. Dr. Franky Tulungen, welcomed this possibility, noting their current challenges.
“We lack IT personnel to keep pace with technological advancements, so learning from UKDW will be a strategic step forward,” he remarked.
Another promising area of collaboration discussed was the development of international collaborative classrooms, explained by Rev. Dr. Handi Hadiwitanto, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs of UKDW’s Faculty of Theology. This program would enable joint online classes between lecturers and students from multiple universities in Indonesia and abroad, particularly at the master’s and doctoral levels.
Other topics included the implementation of Outcome-Based Education (OBE), spirituality-based student formation, contextual research, and interfaith studies. UKDW also shared its experience in student spiritual mentoring and social immersion programs with partner institutions across Indonesia.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to formalize the partnership through the signing of MoU, MoA, and Implementation Agreement (IA) documents. The collaboration will include curriculum development, joint research, faculty and student exchanges, and integration of information systems.
This visit marks a promising first step toward greater synergy among Christian universities in responding to contemporary challenges, improving educational quality, and advancing theology that is relevant and contextual for Indonesia.
W-ID: mpk | Ed. (ENG): drr
