By: Sarojini Imran and Devi Kausar
Lecturer and student exchange program facilitated by the Erasmus+ Programme from the European Commission, from November 2021 to September 2022, has been carried out by the Faculty of Tourism, Universitas Pancasila, Indonesia and the Faculty of Tourism, University of Girona, Spain. This program provides opportunities for both institutions to contribute to the internationalization strategy through teaching and learning activities for lecturers and students.
This teaching exchange program is expected to increase mutual respect and broaden the two institutions’ horizons. Lecturers could develop their pedagogical skills and professional development of lecturers in improving the ability to transfer knowledge to students from other countries, cultures, and perspectives. While the benefits for students are to provide opportunities for them to broaden the perspective of the field of study they are taught and provide opportunities for them to learn from the education systems of other countries and experience exploring cultures that are different from their own.
The teaching mobility involved visit to the University of Girona by Assoc. Prof. Devi Kausar and Assoc. Prof. Sarojini Imran from the Faculty of Tourism, Pancasila University, as Visiting Professors from November 15 – 24, 2021. Among the activities were teaching Bachelor and Master degree classes, interacting with faculty members and Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, University of Girona, and cultural exchange activities.
The mobility programme also involved student and staff mobility from the University of Girona to Pancasila University. Victor Garcia Heras Rodrigues, as an exchange student, attended the Faculty of Tourism, Pancasila University from May 10 to September 15, 2022. He participated in classes, international student sharing session, cultural exchange activities, field trips to West Java and East Java, and carried out an internship in Ubud, Bali.
Whereas Prof. Lluis Mundet, visited Pancasila University from September 6 – 17, 2022, to conduct teaching activities, research collaboration meeting, cultural exchange activities, and attending MoU signing ceremony which marked the cooperation between the two universities beyond the Erasmus+ Mobility Programme.
Prof. Lluis Mundet also joined a hybrid seminar organized by the Faculty of Tourism, Pancasila University on “Gastronomy Tourism: Present and Future”, as a speaker together with Chef Vindex Tengker, a culinary professional known for his experience in the hospitality industry in Indonesia and abroad. The hybrid seminar, conducted on September 12, 2022, attracted academia, students, and general audiences from all over Indonesia.
