LPDP Signs MOU with Northwestern University - 24 June 2016

At a ceremony today at the office of the Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP), academic leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding between LPDP and Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, USA.

Ranked 12th in the United States and 25th in the world, Northwestern is a leading global research university recognized for its exemplary undergraduate and graduate programs. This MOU forges a stronger relationship both between LPDP and Northwestern, and also between Indonesia and the United States.

According to U.S. Ambassador Robert O. Blake, who attended the signing ceremony, “relationships like this ensure that more Indonesians will have access to graduate educations at tier-1 American schools like Northwestern.”

Signing on behalf of Indonesia was Mr. Eko Prasetyo, the President Director of LPDP. “We are very happy to build close ties to Northwestern University as an excellent place for Indonesians to pursue their educational goals,” he said. “We look forward to working closely with Northwestern in the years to come.”

As a sign of the importance Northwestern assigns to its relationship with Indonesia, Dr. Jay Walsh, the university’s Vice President for Research, traveled to Jakarta expressly to attend the signing ceremony.

“Northwestern University is excited about this opportunity to collaborate on higher education initiatives with Indonesia, a major emerging nation,” said Dr. Walsh. “Senior Northwestern administrators — including myself; Morty Schapiro, our president; and Sally Blount, dean of the Kellogg School of Management — have all visited Indonesia repeatedly over the past two years to engage directly with our LPDP partners.”

Northwestern has produced numerous prominent Indonesian alumni who are contributing their talents in law, business, engineering, and government. This MOU builds on that momentum and greatly increases the possibilities for more Indonesians to pursue their education at Northwestern.

LPDP is a major Indonesian government initiative to fund master’s and doctoral studies domestically and internationally. It supports thousands of Indonesians every year through competitive scholarships. Several graduate students attending Northwestern have already won LPDP awards for their studies.