USU PR: Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) joined a meeting of the Erasmus+ Master in Industry 4.0 Cooperation Project participants. This meeting was held for the first time after being postponed several times since the end of 2019 on 20-22 April 2019 in Rome, Italy, which Unimarconi organized. Present on behalf of USU Rector Dr Muryanto Amin, S Sos, M Si, Coordinator of the Erasmus+ Master in Industry 4.0 Cooperation USU Emerson Pascawira Sinulingga ST., M.Sc. Ph.D, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Dr. Ir. Fahmi S.T., M.Sc., IPM, and Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering Suherman ST., M.Comp., Ph.D.

As is known, USU is intensively implementing the Transformation Towards the Ultimate spirit, which was first promoted by the Rector of USU, Dr Muryanto Amin, S Sos, M Si. One of the targets in this transformation is to improve the quality of USU so that it can compete at the international level. The Erasmus+ Master in Industry 4.0 Cooperation Project is one of these programs. Besides USU, other participants came from Italy, Greece, Cambodia, and Malaysia.

The meeting aims to establish a master's study program in the field of Industry 4.0 in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Malaysia. The program will be multidisciplinary combining various technology sectors, such as cyber-physical systems, the internet of things, and big data analytics, with application areas, namely manufacturing, agriculture and health. In addition, plans to establish a supporting laboratory and a Virtual Learning Environment in the Industry 4.0 sector were also discussed. This cooperation itself is carried out in a span of 3 years.

The Chancellor of USU said that this program is vital for USU because it has become part of a group of international universities. According to him, this is very good for USU to strengthen its global campus network and contribute to managing the world of education.

"For USU itself, this cooperation program is very important to meet the targets of the 2020-2024 USU Strategic Plan and Key Performance Indicators (IKU). The target is to get competitive funds for international cooperation, international standard laboratories, a curriculum following the needs of the industrial revolution 4.0, study programs providing cross-disciplinary courses, and lecturers following international mobility. In June, the plan for a follow-up meeting will be held at USU, Medan.” said Muryanto Amin.

According to the cooperation agreement, USU is encouraged to have a laboratory in accordance with the needs of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, which is funded through the Erasmus + Industry 4.0 Cooperation. In addition, USU can implement the Independent Independent Learning Campus (MBKM) policy.

"MBKM can also be fulfilled by establishing new study programs that respond to world changes through collaboration with multilateral organizations and supported by 13 institutions/universities from 3 countries in ASEAN and 2 countries in Europe," he explained.

Unimarconi was chosen as the host because it is a university in Rome, Italy, which has received accreditation as a digital university from the Italian Government. It is actively involved in the national cluster "Fabbrica Intelligente" a national research cluster model to implement an industrial development strategy based on research and innovation to improve the competitive Italian industry. This national research and innovation cluster has developed a design for the development of factories in Italy based on Industrial Technology 4.0 such as Robotics, IAoT, and others that have been utilized by industry. The academic atmosphere supports the speedy recovery of the Italian manufacturing industry and re-growth due to the pandemic.

Therefore, USU seeks to develop its researchers' scientific and research strengths to initiate similar clusters at the national and international levels in collaboration with the government and SMEs in North Sumatra and Nationally. Currently, USU has become part of the Erasmus+ program as one of the campuses chosen to prepare competent graduates in the field of RI 4.0 through the establishment of the Master in Industry 4.0 Study Program. (RR)

Author: Roni Hikmah Ramadhan - Humas

Interviewee: - - -

Photographer: Humas - Humas