Public Relations of UPNVJ — Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Jakarta (UPNVJ) hosted the Annual Meeting of the Vice-Chancellor Forum (Forwarek) for Cooperation and the LPPM Chairperson Forum (FKLPPM) of the West Region BKS PTN in 2025. The event was officially opened by the Chancellor of UPNVJ, Prof. Dr. Anter Venus, MA., Comm at the Mercure Hotel, Jakarta, Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
In his remarks, Prof. Venus expressed his high appreciation for the existence of the West Region BKS PTN which he said had a big footprint and impact in developing cooperation between state higher education institutions in the western region of Indonesia.
"BKS PTN Barat has a strong impression, footprint, and impact on me. Among regional cooperation institutions, we are one of the most alive," he said.
Prof. Venus emphasized that the collaborative spirit carried by BKS PTN Barat is the main force in building productive synergy. According to him, compared to a competitive approach, collaboration is much more beneficial, both for institutional development and improving the quality of education.
"Our approach in the West is more collaborative. We believe that collaboration is more powerful than competition. Every activity is always started and developed together," he continued.
In the forum, Prof. Venus also highlighted the importance of impactful research collaboration and the development of community service programs. He said that in the past five years, BKS PTN Barat has shown an important role, including in the opening of new study programs and mentoring between universities.
"This collaboration is an important foundation. From the opening of study programs, to how to accompany each other. UPNVJ for example, we focus on the medical field because it is already superior, and has received a lot of support from fellow BKS Barat members," he explained.
This activity also serves as an initial momentum to strengthen collaboration in research programs promoted by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek) through the DiktiSaintek platform.
The Chancellor of UPNVJ hopes that this forum will be able to design strategic steps so that BKS Barat member universities can synergize in obtaining research grants and other funding.
"We ask Prof. Yos not only to provide information, but to encourage and strengthen our position for collaboration. We hope this activity will be a starting point to ensure that impactful research becomes a color in the western region," concluded Prof. Venus, referring to the Director of Downstream and Partnership of the Ministry of Education and Technology Prof. Yos Sunitiyoso, ST, M.Eng., Ph.D.
This activity was also attended by the Vice Chancellors for Cooperation and the Head of LPPM from various PTN members of the West Region BKS. Also present were two speakers, namely Prof. Yos and Achmad Syafiuddin, S.Si, M.Phil, Ph.D, who is the Head of LPPM of Nahdlatul Ulama University Surabaya.
The event took place in a warm, collaborative and inspiring atmosphere, and was closed with a strategic discussion between forum participants and speakers on issues currently occurring in their respective home universities. The forum also discussed the direction of future cooperation between PTN members of the West BKS Region.