Monash seeks to improve postgraduate progression in Indonesia

In a country where few students progress beyond undergraduate level, Indonesia’s first overseas branch campus – opened by an Australian university – hopes to encourage more students to pursue postgraduate degrees through a new partnership with local institutions. 

Indonesia lags behind much of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region when it comes to postgraduate enrolment, with 0.45 per cent of total university graduates in the productive population holding these qualifications. In comparison, this figure is 2.43 per cent in Vietnam and Malaysia, two of its closest neighbours, while wealthier countries have much higher rates. 

Monash University Indonesia, which opened on the outskirts of Jakarta three years ago, has now partnered with a group of local private universities in an alliance designed to improve the quality of higher education – including through student exchanges and research collaboration – and to give students “priority” pathways to postgraduate degrees at the Australian university’s Indonesian campus. 

“There’s been a culture of doing the undergraduate degree and then going into the workforce and perhaps then not having the time nor the financial ability to pursue postgraduate studies,” said Matthew Nicholson, Monash Indonesia’s president. 

Many of those who do pursue postgraduate programmes do so overseas, with Australia one of the most popular destinations. However, proposed caps on international students could limit mobility from the country’s Asean neighbours. 

In light of this, said Anthony Welch, emeritus professor of education at the University of Sydney, these new pathways would be appealing. “The opportunity to pursue a Monash degree at lower cost, and without having to travel overseas, means less disruption to family life. It will be welcomed by many, as will the offer of some scholarships,” he said.

Monash Indonesia, which only offers postgraduate programmes, is also set to benefit from a new pool of potential students. Despite few students from the country continuing on to master’s and PhD programmes, Professor Nicholson said, the university was always confident that “we could be successful”, in part thanks to the institution’s 10,000-strong Indonesian alumni base. 

Currently, there are around 400 students enrolled in master’s programmes and the university has recently opened PhD programmes. 

“We really believe that where Monash could make the most significant contribution to Indonesia was at the postgraduate level,” he said. 

As part of the new agreement, one academic from each partner institution will also be able to pursue a doctorate from Monash – another area where Indonesia’s universities stumble. With about 4,600 higher education institutions, only 16 per cent of lecturers nationally hold PhDs. 

While it may be falling behind in some key higher education metrics, hopes are high for Indonesia’s development more generally. As the world’s fourth most populous nation and 10th-largest economy, the country is projected to enter the top five economies by 2050 and a policy plan is in place to make it an “advanced” nation within a similar time frame.

Professor Nicholson said he believed that Monash had an important role to play in helping the archipelago achieve its goals – an attitude he said should be shared by all branch campuses. 

“It’s absolutely essential that you…live up to the social licence to operate that you’ve been granted by the government and by the people of that country,” he said.

“It can’t be a perspective of a deficit model whereby the branch campus sees itself as doing education, research or university administration in a better way.

“Branch campuses and the head office campus have so much to learn from the local universities and the local partners of the country in which they’re located.”

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com