From 3rd to 6th June 2015, Andalas University held the Leadership Education for Engineering Accreditation Program (LEEAP) workshop at its campus in cooperation with USAID and Arizona State University (ASU) under the USAID Higher Education Leadership and Management (USAID-HELM) project. This activity serves as part of the Padang-based university’s effort to strengthen its Faculty of Engineering to be on par with world-class higher-learning institutions throughout the globe by obtaining regional and international accreditations such as ASEAN University Network - Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) and Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
Vice Rector IV of Andalas, Prof. Dr. Helmi, M.Sc, during the workshop explained that as Andalas University prepares itself for the aforementioned goal, he hopes that the initiative to cooperate with USAID and ASU will enable the Faculty of Engineering to lead the way in serving as an example for other programs at the university. During the workshop attended by Andalas’ faculty members, ASU as technical partner to Andalas University in pursuing AUN-QA and ABET accreditations elaborated on topics such as institutional strategies for accreditation, integrating Open Source solutions into the leap-frog transformation plan, developing an e-learning ecosystem, developing partnerships with industry and research consortiums, budgeting for accreditation, and leading sustainable improvements and processes.
For the workshop, USAID-HELM enlisted the assistance of ASU given that the university itself has succeeded in attaining ABET accreditation. ASU which mainly focuses on engineering and technology is also a reputable university in the US and has had experience assisting several universities in Thailand, Malaysia and China in a similar role. Andalas University has been in partnership with USAID since 2012 and has seen its Faculty of Engineering designated by USAID-HELM as the pilot project for LEEAP outside of the island of Java due to the faculty already holding national ‘A’ accreditation and given the proven commitment of Andalas University’s administrators in producing first-rate graduates.
