PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The West Java Provincial Government held the West Java Diaspora Forum Chapter IV with the theme "The Role of Diaspora Partnerships in Supporting the Development of West Java Human Resources with a Global Outlook" at the Trans Hotel Bandung, Tuesday (12/17/2024). Hundreds of participants, who attended online and offline, enthusiastically participated in the forum.

Head of the Bureau of Government and Regional Autonomy of the West Java Regional Secretariat, Faiz Rahman, said that the forum is a strategic forum for the West Java Diaspora to support the acceleration of regional development through international collaboration and networking.

"This forum is proof that the West Java Diaspora has extraordinary potential to bridge development collaboration in the region with various global opportunities, especially in the fields of education and science and technology," said Faiz.

According to Faiz, the forum has two main focuses, namely knowledge transfer and technology. The diaspora shares experiences, innovations, and insights in the fields of education, science, and technology. This will create opportunities for collaboration in research, technology development, and implementation of innovation to support the development of West Java's human resources.

Faiz added that the West Java Diaspora Forum Chapter IV also focuses on facilitating international scholarship opportunities, such as LPDP, Chevening, Fulbright, Australia Awards, Taiwan Scholarships, and Mexico Scholarships.

"Direct consultation sessions with scholarship providers are expected to pave the way for the young generation of West Java to develop their potential at the global level," he said.

The series of forum events include a diaspora seminar, an international scholarship exhibition, the signing of the Record of Discussion (RoD), and the launch of the West Java Partnership Platform as a digital channel to facilitate sustainable diaspora collaboration.

Study Opportunities Abroad

The West Java Diaspora Forum Chapter IV presents a panel discussion to provide motivation and tips and tricks for West Java residents to easily get scholarships abroad.

As conveyed by one of the forum speakers, Evi Yuliana Siregar who is the Secretary General of IDN Global, Mexico. According to her, there are many offers of education and scholarships in the Latin American region.

"As a diaspora, of course we can be the feet and hands of Indonesia abroad, especially me in Mexico. 14 years of focusing on research on higher education, there is indeed a difference in quality that needs to be fixed in Indonesia. That can be our role as a diaspora. We invite West Java residents not to be afraid to go abroad, I myself am a woman who dares to take a scholarship to Mexico," said Evi.

Evi emphasized that the diaspora is ready to contribute to helping young people or anyone who is ready to study abroad so that the next generation has global competence. In Latin America, according to Evi, the quality of education is as good as in England, Australia and even Japan. However, not many people know about it so the opportunities are still wide open.

"That is one proof, there are quite a lot of educators (lecturers), there are even Nobel laureates. Regarding language, it can be learned. School here is free and you even get pocket money to live during your education," he said.

Meanwhile, Bagus Muljadi from the University of Nottingham, England added that the population of England currently reaches 60 million people, not much different from West Java which has reached almost 50 million people.

"Our human resources must certainly be able to compete globally. Through the diaspora, we provide opportunities to study abroad, one of which is the University of Nottingham. Including research scholarships that are quite large in number," said Bagus.

According to Bagus, most of the research funds are absorbed or consumed globally, making it a great opportunity for other countries, including Indonesian researchers. Moreover, there has been a consortium collaboration between three universities in England and four state campuses in West Java to conduct research related to renewable energy.