Padang – The Graduate School (SPs) of Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) held an official meeting with the Rector of Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Imam Bonjol Padang as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen institutional partnerships in education, research, community engagement, and human resource development. The meeting was conducted in a warm and collaborative atmosphere, focusing on opportunities to advance graduate education at both institutions.

The Graduate School delegation was led by the Director of the Graduate School, Prof. Dr. Siswantoyo, S.Pd., M.Kes., AIFO., accompanied by Prof. Dr. Putu Sudira, M.P., Coordinator of the Regular and Distance Learning (PJJ) Doctoral Programme in Technology and Vocational Education (PTK). The delegation was welcomed by the Rector of UIN Imam Bonjol Padang, Prof. Dr. Martin Kustati, M.Pd.

During the meeting, the Rector of UIN Imam Bonjol Padang presented an overview of the university's recent developments and its strategies for enhancing the quality of higher education. Priority initiatives include accelerating doctoral degree completion among academic staff, increasing the number of full professors, strengthening the culture of research and scientific publication, and enhancing human resource capacity as the foundation for becoming a more competitive and internationally recognised university.

The Rector also introduced several internationalisation initiatives currently being developed by the university, including an International Festival, visiting lecturer programmes, international conferences, and expanded academic partnerships with overseas universities. These initiatives are expected to enhance the quality of teaching, research, and international academic collaboration.

During the discussion, the Director of the Graduate School, Prof. Siswantoyo, shared the Graduate School's experiences in developing innovative approaches to graduate education. One of the programmes that attracted particular interest was the implementation of the Distance Learning (PJJ) programme, which has expanded access to graduate education while maintaining high academic standards.

The discussion then focused on a number of collaborative initiatives that could be implemented in the near future. These included collaborative research projects, the preparation of matching grant proposals, joint scientific publications, faculty exchange programmes involving teaching and external examination, the organisation of international conferences, visiting lecturer programmes, the further development of the Distance Learning (PJJ) programme, and the expansion of academic networks at both the national and international levels.

Both institutions agreed that institutional collaboration should be realised through programmes that provide tangible benefits for faculty members, students, educational staff, and institutional development. They emphasised that cooperation should extend beyond administrative agreements and be translated into sustainable academic activities with meaningful impact.

As a follow-up to the meeting, both institutions signed a series of cooperation agreements, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta and UIN Imam Bonjol Padang, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the Graduate School of UNY and the Graduate School of UIN Imam Bonjol Padang, and an Implementation Arrangement (IA) to serve as the operational framework for the collaborative programmes agreed upon during the meeting.

The signing of these three agreements marked an important milestone in strengthening the partnership between the two institutions in implementing the three pillars of higher education. Future collaboration will focus on graduate education development, joint research, scientific publications, human resource capacity building, internationalisation initiatives, and other strategic programmes that contribute to improving the quality of higher education.

Through this meeting and the signing of the MoU, MoA, and IA, the Graduate School of UNY and UIN Imam Bonjol Padang reaffirmed their commitment to building a productive and sustainable partnership that will make meaningful contributions to the advancement of higher education in Indonesia.