Universitas Andalas (UNAND) was the first university in Sumatera, Indonesia. It was established in 1956, located in Limau Manis, Padang. The campus comprises 500 hectares of green area, with other two satellite campuses in Payakumbuh and the Dharmasraya. The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate, Professional and Specialist programs. It has 15 faculties (agriculture, medicine, law, mathematics and natural sciences, economics, farming, cultural studies, social and political sciences, technique, pharmacy, agricultural technology, nursing, public health, information technology, and dentistry) and 1 graduate school. The Universitas has 142 study programs, mainly post graduate. Many classes are delivered in English. For those who have language barriers, the University supports through training for Bahasa. The University central laboratory, sports facilities, Educational Corners, two hospitals, and production centers complement the education facilities for students. In addition, smart classrooms were available for Paralel Class with other universities partners.
WHY CHOOSE UNAND
The name of Universitas Andalas refers to the ancient name of the island of Sumatra. Universitas Andalas is among the top choice institutions for students to study in higher education. Through continuous improvement, the University has received recognition and achievements, both from national and international institutions.
In 2019, Universitas Andalas was recognized as the top research university in Indonesia, based on evaluation by the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Kemenristekdikti), Republic of Indonesia. UNAND received many awards, and in 2022 won the Diktristek Award as the top University with the highest patents application (2020-2022), and the second best University with Industrial Partnerships. In 2023, UNAND ranked 5th Nationally for Research and Innovation Performance based on the SINTA (Science and Technology) Index. Other achievement include Highest Research Output used by the community (2023) based on Indonesia Higher Education Key Performance Indicators (KPI), 2nd place for University where its study programs have collaboration with world-class partners (2022), Top Patents Application for Indonesian University (2020 – 2022), number 6th for the total number of research funded (2023), number 6th for the number of student creativity awarded by the Ministry (2023).
Furthermore, 7 (seven) national awards received by UNAND in 2023 for several categories, namely 2nd Best University for International Collaboration, 2nd Best University for Collaboration with Industry, 2nd Best University for Total Intellectual Property Rights, 3rd Best University for Website Information for Higher Education Institution. In addition, Technologies Invented by UNAND Researchers, received National Priority Innovation Award, one for Invention of Electoral Ink, and another one for invention of Reagent for PCR Rapid Tests. Moreover, one special awards from the Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia given to UNAND as an Informative University that provide Public Information
To date, Universitas Andalas has 2562 partners, consisting of 206 International Partners, 326 Industrial Partners, 385 SMEs Partners, 629 Educational Institution Partners, and 927 Government Institution Partners. In total, International Partners of Universitas Andalas come from 20+ countries. In 2023 alone, UNAND cooperative activities numbered 179 actions with the main partner countries such as Malaysia (57 activities), Japan (48 activities), the USA (10 activities), Taiwan Province of China (9 activities), Nepal (7 activities), and the Philippines (7 activities).
The outcomes of these partnerships ensured UNAND's ranking performance and global reputation in Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking (WUR). It brought UNAND to the top 10 national Universities, based on global ranking. by Desember 2023, Universitas Andalas has published 6.174 research articles in SCOPUS and 55.562 manuscripts in google scholar. Moreover, UNAND Research Articles in Web of Science (WoS) was 91, and in Garuda as many as 14.889 articles.
Universitas Andalas has also invented electoral ink made from gambier, a natural endemic plant in Sumatra. In the 2024 general election, Universitas Andalas, collaborating with a private enterprise, won the tender for consolidation of logistics procurement of electoral ink. The ink was used for the Presidential Election in Indonesia, and distributed to 35 out of 38 Provinces. In total 981,310 bottles were distributed to 500.000 voting places and used by more than 144 million voters in Indonesia. The second innovation of Universitas Andalas was the method for rapid PCR testing. The method, discovered by Universitas Andalas researcher, enables the PCR test to be conducted in bulk, which increased the capacity of Covid-19 PCR test and assist the Indonesian government in dealing with the 2020-2022 Covid outbreak.
In UNAND, admission of students varies. Among others, by participation in university preparation courses and portfolio or experience-based entry options. Students can also travel globally while studying, by taking advantage of our many international student exchange programs with University and Industrial partners. They can also enroll in one of our dual degrees offered in partnership. Finally, UNAND provides scholarships for domestic and international students to study bachelor or master degree in UNAND.
