Fifty universities from the United States and eight countries in Southeast Asia, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, and Laos, met at the JW Marriot Hotel Washington DC to build cooperation in the field of higher education in the US-ASEAN program University Connections Initiative (17-24/2).
The meeting, which lasted for a week, was filled with training activities, conferences, dialogues, and round table discussions. This is to build understanding and effective partnerships between institutions of various countries.
Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara, represented by the Vice Rector III for Student Affairs, Alumni and Cooperation, Rudianto, became one of the universities from Indonesia chosen by the United States Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with UNHAS Makassar, UGM Yogyakarta, and UPH Jakarta to take part in this essential program.
In addition, several universities from ASEAN include the University of Malaya Malaysia, the University of Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam National University, and Cambodia National University. Meanwhile, those from the United States include the University of Illinois, the University of Tennessee, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Utah, and the University of California.
This program was initiated by the United States Ministry of foreign affairs through the organizers of the Ideas Program activities and was technically carried out by the World Learning institution. This is a follow-up to the 2022 US-ASEAN Summit, which agreed to strengthen relations between the United States and ASEAN through one of which is cooperation in higher education.
