From June 7th to 9th 2021, the HEALTH-I Online Symposium concluded three years of a fruitful collaboration between partners in Europe (UMC Utrecht, Elevate Health, University College London, Autonomous University Barcelona) and Indonesia (Universitas Indonesia (UI), Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Padjajaran, Universitas Hasanuddin) to promote blended education and increase research capacity building in Indonesia. The symposium included state-of-the art lecturers from partner universities, highlights of the project, a graduation ceremony for participants, and the exploration for opportunities in future collaborations to continue the joint effort to strengthen Indonesia’s capacity and to engage in health research and blended learning.
The three day event was opened by UI’s Rector Prof. Ari Kuncoro, followed by a speech from UI’s Dean of the Medical Faculty, Dr. Ari Fahrial Syam. Both stressed the successes of the program, identified future priorities for collaborations, and expressed strong interests to continue the partnerships in the future. Prof. Dr. Arno Hoes, Dean of UMC Utrecht, reflected on the nearly two-decade long collaboration in health research with Indonesian partners between UMC Utrecht and Indonesian partners. Mr. Hans de Brabander, head of the Economic Department at the Dutch Embassy in Indonesia and Nuffic Neso Indonesia Director Mr. Peter van Tuijl congratulated the HEALTH-I consortium partners with the achievements in this project, and reflected on the international collaboration between Indonesia and the Netherlands. Prof. Dr. Rick Grobbee from UMC Utrecht described how the long-established relationship was strengthened through an equitable collaboration. Prof. dr. Siti Setiati, Lecturer and Researcher at the Faculty of Medicine, UI, discussed international collaboration in education and research. Prof. dr. Aris Junaidi, Director of Learning and Student Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Culture, subsequently shared experiences with international collaborators in implementing blended learning.
On the third day, Dr. Slamet (Ministry of Health, Indonesia) and Prof. Nizamfrom (Ministry of Education, Culture, Research & Technology, Indonesia) emphasised the need for improved healthcare research capacity building and cross-cultural collaboration. dr. Ari Fahrial Syam, talked about future plans for the consortium, including using the skills learned throughout HEALTH-I towards further research and healthcare within the consortium and Indonesia as a whole. Elevate Health, represented by Anke van Mil, then shared best practices for online education while also highlighting the benefits of blended learning.
Participants of HEALTH-I also shared their research in a series of presentations. The three-day event was concluded with a beautiful graduation ceremony for the HEALTH-I graduates.