Photo caption: MoU Signing by Nuffic Neso Indonesia – LPDP – Directorate General of Higher Education, Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology

Investing in Indonesian mid-career professionals to create a greater sustainable impact and mutual benefit for Indonesia and the Netherlands

This year, Indonesia and the Netherlands continue to strengthen its partnership in the field of education through a joint scholarship programme under the name OKP-LPDP: StuNed Joint Scholarship Programme. A programme that is managed by Nuffic Netherlands Education Support Office (NESO) Indonesia in collaboration with Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) was officially launched during the Virtual Holland Scholarship Days held on 5 – 6 February 2022.

 

The programme started out as a bilateral cooperation with a co-funding scheme under the name DIKTI-LPDP-StuNed Joint Scholarship programmes in 2021, while aiming at realising Indonesia’s commitment in enhancing its human resources according to the national development priority agenda. Looking back at the cooperation, 10 scholarships were awarded and the collaboration showed that student mobility can be successfully conducted through this joint approach. In 2022, the Dutch support for scholarships in Indonesia is integrated in the Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP). The OKP-LPDP cooperation programme continues to achieve the ambition to foster a joint scholarship by targeting Indonesian mid-career professionals to pursue a master’s degree at participating Dutch higher education institutions, to contribute to the cooperation agenda of both countries.

 

Underlining the importance of this partnership, this type of co-funding scheme could be a major breakthrough in finding new funding collaboration approach for scholarship programmes in the future, especially in achieving particular goals which are set together by different parties involved. The idea of a joint scholarship does not only rely on source of funding, but considering the importance of the interests of each country to reach common objectives in order to provide a greater impact for mutual benefit. A similar statement on funding sources and joint scholarship was also emphasised by Prof. Al Makin and Prof. Tom Veldkamp during the 2021 WINNER Conference.

 

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