ITB Denies Ties with Ferienjob Program in Germany
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28 March 2024 17:39 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) has denied any involvement in the problematic Ferienjob program. According to ITB Head of Communication and Public Relations Naomi Haswanto, no ITB students were involved in the program in Germany. "So far, we have checked student activities, and we have not found students participating in internships like this," she said on Thursday, March 28, 2024.
According to Naomi, the internship program followed by ITB students is the Certified Independent Internship and Study (MSIB), coordinated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.
Naomi also said that no parties had offered a Ferienjob partnership to ITB. ITB, according to her, is quite selective in choosing partners. She has also checked the possibility of a cooperation agreement with the two companies involved.
"We checked that ITB does not have an MoU with PT CV GEN and PT Sinar Harapan Bangsa (SHB), which are suspected of being brokers. We never use brokers for student exchange," Naomi said.
ITB was reportedly one of 41 universities in Indonesia that were listed as sending several students to Germany in 2023 for an internship program. Another campus on the list was Atma Jaya Jakarta, which admitted that 27 students participated in Ferienjob. The program ran from October 1 to December 31, 2023, and the students involved have reportedly been returned safely to Indonesia.
According to Atma Jaya University Secretary Agustina Dwi Retno Nurcahyanti, the university has quit the program since February 2024.
"We have conducted an internal investigation and in-depth evaluation of the German Ferienjob program and ensured that this program was immediately stopped since the beginning of the year as soon as all our students returned well," she said on Wednesday. Atma Jaya's International Office found that the program failed to offer students maximum benefits. Furthermore, the university has released an internal circular letter warning of the termination of the Ferienjob program. According to the university, the internship program requires improvement in terms of work placement.
ANWAR SISWADI
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