HUMAS USU - The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) of Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU), in collaboration with the Australian Embassy, held a guest lecture with the theme "The Australia-Indonesia Bilateral Relationship".

This activity brought the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Ms. Penny William PSM, in the multipurpose hall of FISIP Tuesday (16/05/2023).

This activity was well appreciated by both parties. USU Vice Rector IV for Information, Planning, and Development, Prof. Opim Salim Sitompul, MSC., said he was very pleased with the arrival of the Ambassador from Australia to Indonesia to USU.

According to the 4th Vice Rector of USU, this activity is an opportunity to create opportunities for further collaborations with the Australian Embassy.

“This is an opportunity for further collaboration, either for student exchange, lecturers or others. Hopefully, this will be a good start for all of us,” said the 4th Vice Rector.

With the visit of the Australian Ambassador, Prof. Opim said that there are many things that can be utilized in the field of education.

“We are very supportive of exchanges, be it for the students or the lecturers in research and various other activities. We can learn a lot,” he said.

This activity was the first visit of the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams PSM. She was pleased to meet and see the enthusiasm of USU students. Such enthusiasm is shown in the questions asked by the students about the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship.

"It's great to be in Medan, the heart of the North Sumatra province and one of the largest cities in Indonesia. Many of the students asked a lot of interesting questions, which reflects their interest," Penny Williams explained.

Responding to this enthusiasm, Penny Williams shared that there are many scholarships offered by the Australian government for students in Indonesia, especially for Masters and PhD levels.

“I noticed that there were many USU lecturers who took the scholarship in several fields. Every year there are opportunities for lecturers to study in Australia. There are also students from Australia (that come) for summer school at USU,” said Australian Ambassador Penny Williams.