The research team from the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES), led by Prof. Nur Qudus, M.T., IPM (Chair), along with Dr. Harianingsih (Member) and Virgiawan Adi Kristianto, M.Ed. (Member), conducted an educational visit to the University of Auckland, New Zealand, on Thursday-Friday (7-8 August 2025). The visit aimed to strengthen collaboration and joint research with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Auckland.
The University of Auckland is currently ranked 65th in the QS World University Rankings (QS WUR), with its Faculty of Engineering positioned 37th globally. This partnership with UNNES represents a strategic step in advancing academic quality and international research excellence.
The academic discussion was attended by Prof. Asaad Y. Shamseldin, Prof. Dr. Prakash Ranjitkar, and Associate Prof. Dr. Minh Kieu from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, as well as Prof. Ashvin Thambyah (Head of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering), Prof. Saeid Baroutian (Deputy Head of the Department and Director of University Research). The meeting resulted in agreements to pursue several follow-up initiatives, including collaborative research, adjunct professorships, student exchanges, and joint publications.
This international partnership with a top-100 global university is a tangible manifestation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), which are directly aligned with the research focus.
In addition, the initiative supports Indonesia’s Higher Education Key Performance Index (KPI) 6, which emphasizes the importance of study programs collaborating with world-class partners. The activity received full support from the Rector of UNNES and forms part of the QS 100 international collaborative research program funded by the UNNES Research and Development Agency (DPA LPPM) for the 2025 fiscal year.
As Chair of the Research Team and concurrently Vice Rector IV for Cooperation, Business, and International Relations at UNNES, Prof. Nur Qudus expressed his expectations for the outcomes of the collaboration.
“Collaboration with the University of Auckland marks a significant milestone in expanding UNNES’s academic networks at the global level. We hope that the joint research will provide tangible contributions to the advancement of knowledge, particularly in civil engineering, environmental engineering, and materials science, while at the same time strengthening UNNES’s reputation as an internationally recognized university,” he stated.
This collaboration is expected not only to enhance the quality of research and joint publications but also to broaden opportunities for UNNES students and faculty to gain international experience, thereby reinforcing UNNES’s vision as a globally reputable, conservation-minded university.
