Six students from Fachhochschule Dortmund had the opportunity to attend a summer school in Indonesia this year. From September 13 to 26, 2024, the students from the Business Informatics, Business Administration and International Business study programs traveled to Southeast Asia, accompanied by two students from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich.
The summer school is part of the project "Digitalization in Law and Society in Indonesia" funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). It arose from the university dialog with the Islamic world, in which Fachhochschule Dortmund, the Bundeswehr University in Munich and the Universitas Islam Riau and Airlangga in Indonesia jointly promote teaching and research across borders. The first joint hybrid lecture with the participating universities was launched last summer semester. The summer school is one of the highlights of the project every year.
The excursion is both varied and challenging. This year, the participants had the opportunity to present their knowledge in lectures at the renowned partner universities Universitas Airlangga in Surabaya and Universitas Islam Riau in Pekanbaru and discuss it in seminars with lecturers and students on site. One of the outstanding achievements was the presentation given by a UAS student to Indonesia's national competition authority. She gave an impressive presentation on European competition law and the link between theory and practice.
Social project with local village community
Prof. Dr. Michael Bohne, who co-supervised the programme, emphasized the value of this experience: "Participating in the Summer School not only enables our students to deepen their specialist knowledge internationally, but also to acquire intercultural skills that are indispensable in our globalized world."
In addition to the academic program, the students were also involved in a social project in the province of Riau, where they worked with local village communities to improve the infrastructure for tourism. Social projects are not only a valuable experience in Indonesia, but also a mandatory part of university education.
The summer school was also a personal development opportunity. The exchange with Indonesian students and the joint excursions, such as to Mount Bromo or to local villages, promoted a deeper understanding of Indonesian culture and society. "These valuable international experiences will benefit the students from Germany both personally and in a professional context," Prof. Bohne is convinced. The Fachhochschule Dortmund law graduate also received a special honor. Universitas Islam Riau awarded him its Gold Medal of Merit for his commitment to cooperation between Dortmund and Pekanbaru. He is only the second non-Indonesian person to receive this award. This underlines the importance of the intercultural initiative within the DAAD project.