THE Manila Times College (TMTC) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Esa Unggul University (EUU) in Indonesia for the international students exchange program (ISEP) and dual-degree program.
Under the agreement, EUU and TMTC will facilitate the exchange of faculty experts, researchers, academic personnel and students, of literature, research findings and other related publications and of a double-degree program; ensure credit transfer and mutual recognition of courses offered by both schools; encourage participation by faculty and students in each other’s educational congresses, conferences, workshops, symposiums, training courses and exhibits.
EUU Rector Dr. Arief Kusuma Among Praja said the partnership with the TMTC is a good opportunity for their students to experience and to learn the real world of journalism.
“I know that the Philippines is producing a lot of professionals around the world and we want to learn from the Philippines,” Dr. Praja added.
“I think it’s a good opportunity to have a partner in a real industry. This partnership is very significant because this will help enhance our experience in collaborating with other institutions and we want our students to have an international experience,” the EUU rector said.
He added that their students will have a good career path in studying journalism at the TMTC under the dual-degree program.
“Hopefully, they can have a good job after graduating from The Manila Times College. This is a good break to study journalism in the Philippines. I think the Philippines is a very democratic country in which journalistic practice is free and we can learn more about it from the Philippines,” Dr. Praja said.
Under the program, communication students from EUU will take up a journalism course at the TMTC and will undergo hands-on training as they will be assigned to various beats.
Dr. Praja said more students will be given the opportunity to study abroad with the integration by 2015 of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
“I think the Asean 2015 is a good opportunity especially that our market is becoming larger. We have to share the same market because not all Indonesians have the opportunity to study in higher education programs and to study abroad,” he added.
The Asean Economic Community aims to bring together the Asean member-nations into a single market that is able to compete in the global economy by 2015.
Asean groups Brunei Darussalam, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, plus two observers Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea.
Recently, top Philippine universities such as De La Salle University, University of Santo
Tomas, Ateneo de Manila University and University of the Philippines announced that they will be changing their calendars as part of an “internationalization effort,” noting that the Philippines is the only remaining Asean member-country with a June-to-March academic year.
In 2012, the TMTC also tied up with the Thammasat University in Thailand for an academic and cross-cultural learning partnership. Thammasat University is the first higher educational institution in Thailand to offer a bachelor’s degree in journalism. This program offers courses in newspaper and print media, radio and television, film, advertising, public relations and mass-communication management.