As the oldest public health educational institution in Indonesia, the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) at the Universitas Indonesia (UI) has become a reference for various public health institutions in terms of educational quality. It has also established collaborations with universities both domestically and internationally. On Tuesday, July 23, 2024, FPH UI received a visit from the Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University (GSPH SNU). The purpose of the visit was to discuss plans for collaboration in student mobility, research, and publication, as well as to introduce and build networks between the departments and programs of FPH UI and GSPH SNU.
The visit, which took place in the P209 Meeting Room of the RIK Building at UI, marked the initial meeting in the academic cooperation agenda between Seoul National University and FPH UI. The Dean of FPH UI, Prof. dr. Mondastri Korib Sudaryo, M.S., D.Sc., warmly welcomed the visit from Seoul National University, expressing optimism and enthusiasm about the potential for long-term collaboration between both parties. “This long-term collaboration is very important to us, and next year will be a good starting point to build a strong collaborative network between FPH UI and the Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University,” said Prof. Mondastri. Through this positive outlook, both institutions are expected to support each other in various academic and research activities that will benefit the development of public health.
The Dean of SNU GSPH, Prof. Tae-Jin Lee, stated, “We are very excited to start this collaboration, as we believe this partnership will bring significant benefits to both institutions and enrich the academic experience of our students. Through the strong commitment of both sides, we hope this initiative can have a positive impact on the development of public health education.”
Currently, GSPH SNU is focused on climate change, a critical and urgent global issue. South Korea is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change. The effects that have already been felt include rising temperatures, more frequent extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and changes in agricultural outcomes. Similarly, Indonesia is projected to experience a temperature increase of about 0.8 degrees Celsius by 2030 due to the impacts of climate change.
Prof. Seiung-Sik Hwang, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at GSPH SNU, added that this year SNU launched the Clean Air for Sustainable ASEAN (CASA) project, funded by the ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund (AKCF) on January 23, 2023. This project aims to support political, scientific, and technical approaches to reducing air pollution and minimizing its health impacts in ASEAN member countries.
The main activities of this project include research and the development of effective policies to address air pollution, enhancing technical and scientific capacity through training or workshops, academic conferences, and strengthening regional cooperation in tackling air quality issues. The mentioned academic conference will feature speakers from Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan, and Prof. Seiung hopes to have a speaker from FPH UI as a representative of Indonesia to discuss climate change issues. “This event promises interesting and valuable discussions, where participants, including students and international academics, can collaborate and create long-term partnerships,” said Prof. Seiung.
During the discussions between the two parties, Dien Anshari, S.Sos., M.Si., Ph.D., Manager of Student Affairs at FPH UI, responded positively to GSPH SNU’s invitation for the upcoming conference, as FPH UI is capable of accommodating all forms of collaboration, provided that the established prerequisites within FPH UI are met. This visit is expected to be a good start for the collaboration between both institutions. FPH UI hopes to provide guidance as a partner, as expected.
In addition to the Dean of FPH UI and the Manager of Student Affairs, the visit was attended by the Vice Deans, Chairs and Secretaries of Departments, Managers of Cooperation, Alumni Relations, and Ventures, Managers of Research and Community Service, Managers of Education, Managers of Quality Assurance, and Chairs and Secretaries of Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral Programs at FPH UI. Meanwhile, from GSPH SNU, Prof. Tae-Jin Lee, Dean; Prof. Seung-Sik Hwang, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs; Prof. Seung-Muk Yi, Associate Dean of Student Affairs; as well as members of the Department of Public Health Sciences, including Prof. Ho Kim (Biostatistics), Prof. Hyeon S. Son (Public Health AI), Prof. Wankyo Chung (Health Economics), Prof. Myoungsoon You (Organization and Communication in Health), Prof. Seunghyun Yoo (Community Health, Urban Health, Qualitative Research), and Prof. Sun-Young Kim (Global Health) were present. From the Department of Environmental Health Science, the attendees included Prof. Gwangpyo Ko (Environmental Health Microbiology), Prof. Chung Sik Yoon (Occupational and Environmental Health), and Prof. Kiyoung Lee (Built Environment System and Technology). (DFD)