Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The military announced on Friday a plan to cooperate with some national universities as part of a drive to become more professional and innovative.
"The cooperation would be conducted between the TNI and the Ministry of Education. It is the ministry that will give us direction as to which universities fit our needs," said Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) spokesman Col. Guntur Wahyudi.
Under the plan, Guntur said that some university lecturers would teach at the Indonesian Military Staff and Command College (Sesko TNI). He added that the military was aiming to be more professional, as mandated by the military law.
One way of doing so, he said, is to raise the defense management skills of officers and to enhance awareness of technology, human rights, the environment and other issues.
He said some of the forces had already signed agreements with national universities. The Air Force signed a deal in July to forge a cooperation between the University of Indonesia and the Bandung Institute of Technology with the military's aviation college.
Guntur's remarks came two days after Military Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso stressed the need for military educational institutions to improve their quality and upgrade the officer corps.
In his remarks during the graduation ceremony of 100 mid-ranking officers at the Sesko TNI building in West Java on Wednesday, Djoko said young officers were facing a more challenging world due to extraordinary advances in information technology and science.
He also said the local and global surge in democratic values in recent years meant that today's officers must pay greater respect to human rights and other issues, including awareness of environmental issues.
"We must keep up to date by making many innovations to face these challenges," Djoko said. "We have to improve our knowledge by enhancing cooperation with other universities."
Among the 100 graduating officers were seven foreign officers – two from Malaysia, and one each from Australia, India, Singapore, Thailand and Burkina Faso.