Utrecht University Faculty Visit to Indonesia: Strengthening Academic Collaboration

Following the successful staff exchange program that brought Dr. Erlis Saputra and Dr. Ari Susanti from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) to Utrecht University’sDepartment of Human Geography and Spatial Planning since January 7, 2025, the exchange continued with a visit to Indonesia.

A delegation from Utrecht University’s Faculty of Geosciences completed their visit to Indonesia, deepening academic partnerships and collaborative research initiatives. The visiting team included Prof. Janwillem Liebrand, Prof. dr. Kei Otsuki, and Dr. Femke van Noorloos, accompanied by PhD candidates Vandy Swara, Rizky Ghiffari, and Agung Jahauri. They were joined by their Indonesian colleagues Dr. Erlis Saputra, Dr. Ari Susanti, and Prof. dr. Rijanta from UGM.

This visit represented the ongoing partnership between Utrecht University and Indonesian academic institutions like UGM, facilitating knowledge exchange on topics like human geography, spatial planning, and sustainable development. The collaboration builds on shared research interests in land governance, urban development, and environmental sustainability, particularly relevant to Indonesia’s current development challenges including the new capital city project and sustainable urbanization initiatives.