IU School of Education Dean Robert Berry signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (University of Education Indonesia) in Bandung, Indonesia. The memorandum will  enable qualified UPI lecturers to transfer to Indiana University to complete a Ph.D. at the IU School of Education in Bloomington. When they return to UPI, and at UPI’s discretion, they will also be awarded a doctoral degree from UPI, upon the successful defense of their dissertation in Bandung, Indonesia.

The unique aspect of the memorandum, according to Professor Faridah Pawan, is the “double degree” Ph.D. program where the successful candidates will receive degrees from IU and from UPI. The program is for UPI lecturers and instructional staff as part of the Indonesian national program to upskill their professoriate. The signing of the memorandum follows the signing of a Memorandum of Academic Cooperation (MOAC) at IU this past February.

UPI Rector Didi Sukyadi will also visit the IU School of Education in late July  to explore expansion of the memorandum to include other SOE disciplines and further strengthen the developing institutional relationship. Two UPI lecturers will also begin their doctoral studies at the SOE this fall, joining eleven Indonesian doctoral students funded by the Indonesia government who are in their second year at the SOE.

“The MOAC and the MOU agreements position IU SoE and UPI as equal partners in preparing future educational Indonesian researchers and leaders,” Pawan added.