Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) cooperated with Yamagata Univesity, Japan as one of top 500 universities in the world. The cooperation aimed at increasing the quality of education globally and strengthening academic cooperation of UMY.

UMY and Yamagata University signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday (6/4) at Yamagata University, Japan. In the MoU signing, UMY’s party was represented by Dr. Dr. Ir. Gunawan Budiyanto, M.P., while Executive Director and Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs of Yamagata University Dr. Hironori Yasuda was on behalf of Yamagata University.

Dr. Ir. Gunawan Budiyanto, M.P. contended that, as a Muhammadiyah-affiliated university, UMY should enhance itself and broaden its horizon through fostering cooperation with other universities. “UMY has cooperated with various ASEAN universities. UMY now has to be ready to go out of comfortable zone from first level to second level (ASEAN) such as Taiwan, Korea, and Japan,” mentioned Gunawan on Thursday (6/4) after signing the MoU.

Gunawan also stated that Yamagata University is a university which has good ranking over the world. The university has good technology and eco-friendly agriculture system. “This movement is expected to increase the academic credibility of UMY, and open wider strategic cooperation with national and international universities,” added Gunawan.

Furthermore, Dr. Hironori Yasuda maintained that the cooperation of both universities focused on student exchange, joint research, and visiting professor.” We also hope that this cooperation will foster the quality of each university. Through the student exchange, the students are expected to be able to conduct research, gain new cultural knowledge, and be more open-minded,” wished Yasuda.