YOGYAKARTA – In what is widely regarded as a rare and symbolically significant occasion in the diplomatic calendar, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) welcomed two ambassadors concurrently on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. H.E. Marc Gerritsen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN, and H.E. Ralf Beste, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Indonesia, were present in a tandem courtesy visit to UGM that underscored the deep and enduring educational ties between Indonesia and two of Europe’s foremost academic powerhouses.
The delegation was received by UGM Rector Prof. dr. Ova Emilia, M.Med.Ed., Sp.OG(K), Ph.D., accompanied by senior university leadership, including Vice Rector for Research, Business Development and Partnerships Dr. Danang Sri Hadmoko; Director of Partnerships and Global Relations Prof. Puji Astuti; and the Head of UGM’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), Tyas Ikhsan Hikmawan, Ph.D. Representatives from the Faculty of Biology, Faculty of Geography, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, and Faculty of Pharmacy were also present, reflecting the breadth and depth of UGM’s engagement with both countries.
Ambassador Gerritsen spoke warmly of UGM’s standing as an institution where science, arts, and innovation grow together, serving both the purpose of academic excellence and greater societal impact. He pointed to the LPDP scholarship framework as a vehicle for channeling Indonesian talent toward leading Dutch institutions in fields like water management, food science, and horticulture, and expressed interest in deepening ties through frameworks already in motion. This includes the Leiden-UGM Twin Laboratory at the Laboratorium Penelitian dan Pengujian Terpadu (LPPT), the INUCoST consortium, and the UGM–University of Groningen Hub for Future Human Welfare. Over the last five years, UGM and its 19 Dutch partner institutions have produced over 670 joint publications and maintained a robust reciprocal flow of students and researchers. That academic relationship is further anchored by a community of UGM and Indonesian alumni who studied in the Netherlands and have since returned to assume renowned roles in academia, government, and industry.
One of the most tangible symbols of that Dutch-Indonesian partnership is the Leiden-UGM Twin Laboratory, housed at UGM’s LPPT. First initiated in 2017 as a joint facility between UGM and Leiden University, the Twin-Lab has been revitalized since early 2026 and is now operating as an active research center focused on zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a biological model organism. The colony has been successfully established with stable egg production, and key instruments have been relocated to the facility, including a robotic injector and several advanced microscopes that now enable procedures such as embryo microinjection and real-time developmental observation. Two Leiden-UGM double-degree PhD students are currently conducting their research there: one working on fish models for mycobacterial infections and another on peptide screening for anticancer compounds using zebrafish. Ambassador Gerritsen, who toured the facility following the courtesy meeting, expressed admiration for the progress made and for the ingenuity with which the Twin-Lab has kept itself operational and scientifically productive even without large-scale institutional funding.
On the other hand, Ambassador Beste, who took up his post in Jakarta in October 2025 after serving as Director General for Culture and Society in the German Foreign Ministry, brought equal conviction to the table. He spoke of the DAAD, Germany’s academic exchange powerhouse, as a lifelong engine of people-to-people ties and invoked the legacy of B.J. Habibie to illustrate how a German education can leave a mark on a nation. UGM’s partnership with Germany spans 28 institutions and nearly 450 joint publications in the last five years, anchored by landmark initiatives like the Get-In CICERO geosciences laboratory built jointly with RWTH Aachen, and a growing portfolio of DAAD-supported programs including visiting professorships, leadership training, and consortium research grants. He also spoke at length about the generosity underpinning Germany’s higher education philosophy. The long tradition of near-tuition-free university education, heavy public investment in research, and the deep belief that access to knowledge is a public good rather than a commercial transaction. But he was also equally candid about the pressures reshaping that landscape: the rapid transformation of industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing is fundamentally altering what universities must teach and how they must teach it. Staying relevant, he argued, demands that institutions on both sides of the partnership remain nimble, continuously updating curricula and forging ties between the classroom and the cutting edge of industry.
Among the most forward-looking discussions of the afternoon was the potential for collaboration through UGM’s Gelanggang Inovasi dan Kreativitas (GIK), the university’s new Center for Art and Creativity. GIK Director, Alfatika Aunuriella Dini, presented the facility as a convergence point for industry and creative talent, with an art gallery, innovation ecosystem, and openness to international student internships and artist residencies. Both ambassadors responded with genuine interest and were openly engaged by the possibilities, especially after a brief tour at GIK as a concluding agenda of the day.
Rector Ova Emilia set the tone for the day early, noting that there remain many opportunities to expand research collaboration, particularly through small-scale joint funding as a first step toward bigger ambitions. For UGM’s Office of International Affairs, the visit was a reminder that the university’s deepening European ties are becoming something more extensive and considerably more productive. (Adnan/OIA)
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