On November 2019, Fulbrighters Associate Professor Jayne C. Lammers and Dr. Puji Astuti of Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) were invited to give a plenary talk in a conference in Universitas Tanjungpura, in Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

This visit also served as a Fulbright and University of Rochester-Warner School reunion, bringing current Fulbright US Scholar Dr. Jayne C. Lammers (University of Rochester) and Dr. Puji Astuti (UNNES), a Fulbright alumna at the invitation of Dr. Yanti Sri Rezeki, also a Fulbright alum. These three scholars were last together in 2016, when Puji and Yanti each graduated from the Warner School with their PhD.

During this visit, the three Fulbrighters visited local schools, spent time talking with the Director and volunteers at the American Corner at Universitas Tanjungpura, and hosted an information session for Education lecturers, students, and guests to learn more about the degree scholarships and other funding opportunities available through AMINEF.

Then, Dr. Lammers and Dr. Astuti each gave a plenary address as part of the English Education department’s 1st National Conference titled “Promoting the 21st Century Skills in English Literacy and Education.” The audience reaction to these plenary talks was very receptive and encouraging, and Dr. Lammers and Dr. Astuti each made specific connections with participants that will likely lead to future exchanges of ideas.

This visit strengthened the connections between US and Indonesia by creating time for discussion about future collaborations and by bringing researchers from Central Java to Kalimantan to promote intra-Indonesian partnerships.