Semarang City-The Vocational School International Summer Course program in 2022, known as the Diponegoro University Vocational School Summer School, was attended by students and academics from within the country and from abroad, especially Malaysia and Taiwan. The activity, which lasted for four days, still had to be held online considering the provisions of health protocols between countries were still strict.
The Dean of the Vocational School of Diponegoro University, Prof. Dr. Ir Budiyono, M.Si, said that whatever the conditions, academic activities and development and research must continue to be carried out with various adjustments. “We have to be adaptive without losing substance,” said Prof. Budioyono (28/9/2022).
The Vocational School of Diponegoro University makes summer school a routine activity that is held twice a year. In the second half of 2022, the Vocational School International Summer Course in 2022 will be held for four days from Monday (22/9/2022) to Thursday (29/9/2022). Considering the provisions of the protocol between countries, this time the activity was carried out online.
The Vocational School International Summer Course program in 2022 was attended by lecturers and students from within the country such as Siliwangi University, Bandung State Polytechnic, and Riau University; also attended by academics from Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, University of Malaya, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, International Islamic University Malaysia and Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur Malaysia; and National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology and National Chung Hsing University from Taiwan.
In his remarks, the Dean of the Vocational School of Diponegoro University introduced the four departments of the Vocational School consisting of the Department of Civil and Planning; Department of Industrial Technology; Department of Business and Finance; and the Ministry of Information and Culture. “In this activity, the committee from the Department of Civil and Planning chose Learning BIM Application in Heriatge Area of Semarang as the main topic of Summer School,” said Prof. Budiyono.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process of building information supported by tools and technology involving the management of digital representations. BIM is a superior application used in today’s era. This is because the use of BIM can help industry and government activities plan, design, build, operate, and maintain various infrastructures.
At the event, speakers from Malaysia were present, namely Mr. Muhammad Hazim Bin Azami (an architect and Head of BIM); and Mr. Rizal Husin as the Senior Associate Architect. Besides that, this activity was also attended by lecturers from Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Through BIM, it is hoped that engineers will easily visualize pre-construction, such as reducing risk, cost effectiveness, increasing prefabrication productivity, and many more. That way, it is hoped that all participants can add insight and discuss the relevance of the BIM application to heritage in the city of Semarang through various perspectives.
Prof. Budiyono added, the Summer School program is also a manifestation of Vocational Schools to encourage Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or sustainable development by sharing experiences and benefits with all participants. “The world needs your energy, intellect and dedication to achieve a better global goal.”
Meanwhile, the Head of the Department of Civil and Planning, Vocational School of Diponegoro University, Asri Nurdiana, S.T., M.T., added that the Summer Course activity is an annual activity organized by the Vocational School of Diponegoro University, which is one of the Inbound Student Programs at Diponegoro University to bring in foreign students. “Summer Course activities at Vocational Schools are also one of the activities for the internationalization of Undip Vocational Schools,” said Asri.
The Summer Course is held for 4 days with the concept of a short course and group project discussions from the participants. This activity was carried out in a hybrid manner due to the pandemic conditions which resulted in some difficulties in bringing foreign students to Indonesia.
Participants in this Summer Course consisted of 72 participants, with 41 foreign students and 31 domestic students. The invited resource persons are 2 practitioners who have experience in Building Information Modeling (BIM), according to the theme of the activity being carried out.
To harmonize the theme, at the opening ceremony of the Summer Course activities, the lecturers of the Vocational School of Diponegoro University wore traditional clothes from various regions in Indonesia. “With the implementation of this Summer Course, it is hoped that it can build a good image of Diponegoro University and as a vehicle for promotion of Diponegoro University’s Vocational School in the international scope. This activity is also expected to support the achievement of the performance of Vocational Schools,” he said.