Dr. Jeffrey Fergus was a Fulbright Specialist at Universitas Indonesia in Depok from December 15 through 29, 2022. The goals of the program are to support curriculum development related to outcome-based approaches and the incorporation of experiential learning in Mechanical Engineering and other engineering disciplines.

_{Welcome Dinner}

Fulbright Specialist Dr. Jeffrey Fergus, a professor from Auburn University, and the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Indonesia in Depok had successfully collaborated in carrying out a project on outcome-based curriculum development and the incorporation of experiential learning in Mechanical Engineering and other engineering disciplines from 16-29 December 2022. The collaboration was timed well to support the revision of engineering curricula in 2024 and the initiative to increase the level of participation by students in experiential learning.

Dr. Fergus said that the experience of serving as a Fulbright Specialist in Indonesia revealed similarities and differences between U.S. and Indonesian educational practices, challenges, and opportunities.

He had meetings with the Faculty of Engineering Education Modernization and Internationalization Unit and other interested faculty members. The sessions included comparing the accreditation criteria of US-based ABET with those of the Indonesian Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (IABEE) and sharing experiences with issues arising from accreditation evaluations.

_{Meeting with Faculty of Engineering – Education Modernization and Internationalization Unit}

“Various aspects of engineering curricula were discussed, including course delivery approaches, culminating design experience, and outcome assessment,” he said.

“Some emerging trends in engineering education, especially sustainability and cultural competence, were also discussed,” he added.

The Center for Independent Learning at the university also held a session to discuss experiential learning. Increasing the participation of students at the University of Indonesia in experiential is a university-wide initiative driven by the Ministry of Education, so this session was held on Zoom to facilitate participation from participants outside of engineering.

Dr. Fergus also had the opportunity to have meetings with Mechanical Engineering students.

“One meeting was with a nationwide student organization, Mechanical Students Mechanical Engineering Study Programs Cooperation Body (BKS-TM), on research and publication, which was held on Zoom so students throughout the country could participate. The other was a graduate student colloquium of students at the University of Indonesia on tips for graduate studies”, he asserted.

_{Mechanical Engineering Graduate Students}

He also had a meeting with leadership in the Faculty of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering to discuss curriculum development as well as the development of an agreement for a bachelor’s-master’s degree 3+2 program, in which students would spend three years at the University of Indonesia and two years at Auburn University to earn a bachelor’s degree at the University of Indonesia and a master’s degree at Auburn University.

_{Meeting with the Faculty of Metallurgical and Material Engineering}

The visit was timely for a few reasons. One is that the Faculty of Engineering is preparing to revise curricula in 2024. In addition, in 2022, the IABEE became a full signatory of the Washington Accord – International Engineering Alliance. The third is, as noted above, the Ministry of Education has the initiative to increase the level of participation by students in experiential learning.

“I hope the discussions will be helpful to the Faculty of Engineering for responding to these developments,” Dr. Fergus said.

He added that the most tangible future collaboration would be through the bachelor’s-master’s degree 3+2 program. The model can be applied to other engineering programs if the program’s feasibility can be demonstrated with Metallurgical and Materials Engineering.

“The program will provide a framework in which faculty members at the University of Indonesia and Auburn University can collaborate on student projects. Relationships developed through such collaborations can lead to other collaborations in engineering research or education”, he asserted.

_{Ardiansyah Yatim, Jeffrey Fergus and Vice-Rector Academic and Student Affairs – Dr. Abdul Haris}