On January 9-23, 2017, the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI) in collaboration with Leiden University (UL), Netherlands, held a two-week study visit program discussing ecosystem issues and environmental sustainability.

In this program, 24 students from UI and UL will gather to get to know each other’s cultures as well as learn about ecosystem and environmental problems in Indonesia.

The activities will be conducted in two sessions. The first week will be a theory session introducing Indonesian culture, culture, and environmental diversity.

Meanwhile, the following week will be a field visit session to nature reserve parks in Bogor, including the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park, the Bodogol Nature Conservation Education Center, and the Bogor Botanical Gardens.

“The goal of this program is to explore and take the first step toward establishing a dual degree program with Leiden University in the field of conservation and sustainability,” said the Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Dr.rer.nat. Abdul Haris.

This program is called the “Winter School Program”, because it is carried out when winter is in the Netherlands.

In this program, each student from both universities gets a partner from a different university to carry out activities during the program, who is called a “Buddy”.

This buddysystemaims to ensure that there is an introduction of culture and knowledge between the two countries during the program.

During the activity, 12 students from UL stayed at Wisma Makara, UI Depok. All students participated in direct environmental observations and presentations on subtopics assigned to each group.