ITS lecturers, while visiting Beifang Automotive Education Group, Beijing, China

ITS Campus, ITS News — Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) continues its commitment to developing automotive education and technology through expanded cooperation with Beifang Automotive Education Group. As part of this expanded collaboration, ITS and this Chinese company will establish a training center to enhance students’ skills in the automotive field.

Prof Dr Bambang Sudarmanta ST MT, manager of the Science Techno Park (STP) at ITS, stated that this collaboration is a strategic step for ITS to provide education that is integrated with the global automotive industry’s needs. Through the establishment of the Beifang training center at ITS, it is hoped that students, faculty, and the general public will be able to develop technical skills in the automotive field.

ITS faculty members during practical training at Beifang Automotive Education Group, Beijing, China

Bambang explained that the plan to expand this collaboration was agreed upon when ten ITS lecturers were sent to Beifang to participate in automotive training related to new energy vehicles. Through funding from the Higher Education for Technology and Innovation (HETI) program of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), this initiative facilitated the ITS delegation in receiving direct training on electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen engines, and hydrogen fuel cells.

The training sparked discussions regarding the expansion of cooperation between ITS and Beifang, which includes the establishment of a training center or training hub at ITS. Beifang plans to send its delegation directly to support the operations of this training center. “This training center is planned to be equipped with Beifang’s advanced automotive research tools,” he said.

The ITS delegation, along with Beifang Vocational Education Group CEO Cao Zhenfeng (eighth from the right), during training at Beifang Automotive Education Company, China

Bambang also emphasized that the benefits of this training center are not only available to ITS students but also to participants from outside ITS, such as vocational high school students interested in automotive studies. The training center plans to regularly conduct training sessions open to participants not only from ITS. “In the future, participants with the best potential are planned to be sent to Beifang for further training,” he revealed.

This professor from the ITS Mechanical Engineering Department hopes that this expanded collaboration will enhance expertise in the automotive field in Indonesia. Additionally, he hopes to accelerate the transfer of knowledge related to new automotive energy to drive research and innovation. “One day, as knowledge in the automotive field grows, entrepreneurs or startups in the field of new energy vehicles may emerge,” he hoped.

ITS lecturers during training at Beifang Automotive Education Group, Beijing, China

From now on, Bambang said that ITS is committed to continually supporting the advancement of automotive technology, especially in terms of new energy vehicles. By utilizing the latest training and research facilities resulting from this cooperation, ITS is ready to produce graduates who are prepared to face the challenges of the global automotive industry and who can make a real contribution to society.

The collaboration between ITS and Beifang aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Point 9 on industry, innovation, and infrastructure, as well as Point 4 on quality education through the development of training hubs and automotive technology research. This collaboration between industry and academia also aligns with SDG 17 on partnerships to achieve goals. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Mohammad Febryan Khamim
Translator: Lael Soebakir