SIT Partners With 44000 Student Indonesian Uni

SIT has signed up a new Indonesian university partner with 44,000 students.

A delegation from Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta visited Invercargill on Sunday May 24 to explore academic partnerships with Southern Institute of Technology.

The Indonesian university is one of the country's leading private institutions, offering programmes from undergraduate to doctoral level under the Muhammadiyah Organisation.

SIT International manager Riza Ambadar said the visit highlighted strong alignment between the organisations and reinforced SIT's international growth strategy.

"Our discussions demonstrated UMS's capability as a credible and scalable partner with existing infrastructure and a clear commitment to internationalisation," Ambadar said.

"UMS presents a strong platform for collaboration, with the vision needed to support offshore delivery and international student pathways."

The visit identified several collaboration opportunities. SIT could deliver online programmes in Indonesia, establish an English-language testing centre for outbound students, and offer its Manaaki preparation programme. Joint research publications and academic quality initiatives are also on the table.

Professor Dr Harun Joko Prayitno, rector of Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, said the exploratory visit was expected to establish a partnership enhancing both institutions' academic reputation.

"Collaboration in the fields of research, innovation, community empowerment, joint publications, joint conferences, and participation in a shared editorial team for scientific publications is expected to contribute positively to the quality and reputation of both parties, namely SIT and UMS," Prayitno said.

Ambadar said the engagement reflects SIT's commitment to building partnerships that bring the world to Southland.

"This visit marks the opening of a new door to boundless potential. The Muhammadiyah Education network serves over one million students across 5,346 institutions, 164 of which are at tertiary level. UMS alone hosts more than 44,000 students at its campus in Surakarta (Solo), Central Java. We look forward to exploring these opportunities in greater depth with UMS," he said.

A follow-up meeting will be scheduled during Ambadar's visit to the UMS campus in July.