Universitas Terbuka (UT) is the 45th state university and a pioneer in providing Open and Distance Higher Education in Indonesia. Currently, UT has an active student population of 550,052 with a target of 750,000 by the end of 2024.
On April 1, 2024, UT had the opportunity to host visitors from Al-Mustafa International University (MIU), Islamic Republic of Iran, which has been established for 40 years and operates in over 60 countries with more than 50,000 students. With its distance learning division, Al-Mustafa Open University (MOU), MIU visited UT for benchmarking and insights into distance learning. The meeting between UT and MIU took place in the Brahma Room, Prof. Setijadi Building, Universitas Terbuka.
UT’s Rector, Prof. Ojat Darojat, M.Bus., Ph.D., commenced the meeting by welcoming the MIU delegation and introducing UT as a university that provides inclusive education for equal distribution of higher education throughout Indonesia. In his speech, the Rector also stated that UT is expanding its international presence through collaborations with foreign institutions and its position as the president of the Asian Association of Open University (AAOU).
Meanwhile, MIU’s Director for Southeast Asia, Prof. Dr. Hossein Muttaghi, expressed his admiration for UT’s learning system in his address. He also introduced MIU’s profile as a university that combines humanities and religious studies. The development of MOU as a distance learning institution planning to implement asynchronous learning was also explained. He expressed his willingness to collaborate with UT in double-degree programs in the future.
The discussion between UT and MIU on April 1, 2024, broadly covered collaboration between the two parties and the learning system at UT. Prof. Ojat outlined the general framework of UT’s distance higher education system, which provides learning access through various media such as printed and digital interactive Course Books/Modules, UT TV, UT Radio, and others. This served as inspiration for Prof. Hossein to implement at MOU. He also expressed interest in collaborating with UT’s newest program, Bachelor’s of Islamic Education, as the initial step towards realizing the double-degree program collaboration.
After the joint discussion, there was an exchange of souvenirs and photos, as well as visits to UT’s operational units. This visit is expected to enhance the quality and foster further cooperation between the two universities.
