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The 13th International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) officially concluded on Thursday, August 1, 2024. Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), through the Airlangga Institute of Indian Ocean Crossroads (AIIOC), hosted this prestigious event, which commenced on Sunday, July 28, 2024.
13th ICAS was made possible through a robust partnership between UNAIR’s AIIOC and the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), based in the Netherlands. Although 13th ICAS has been concluded, the collaboration between UNAIR and IIAS is set to continue.
Philippe Peycam, Director of IIAS, mentioned that the next step is to further develop AIIOC into a more significant unit. AIIOC initially started as a collaborative project between UNAIR and IIAS. “We will continue to work together to make AIIOC a successful unit, not just for the industry but also for the Indonesian government,” he stated.
Peycam noted that AIIOC has the potential to offer broader benefits to a wider audience. 13th ICAS has marked a significant milestone in AIIOC’s rapid development. “AIIOC has the potential to benefit not only UNAIR, the city of Surabaya, or East Java but also Indonesia and the entire world,” he said.
Exploring further collaboration
One of the potential areas of continued collaboration between UNAIR and IIAS is the establishment of a fellowship program. This program would provide opportunities for individuals to pursue further studies abroad.
“A fellowship will facilitate Indonesians in various activities, such as pursuing a PhD overseas and returning to their home country after the fellowship,” Peycam remarked on Thursday, August 1, 2024.
The fellowship can ease the exchange of knowledge across various disciplines. Peycam believes that AIIOC can grow into a research center as significant as IIAS, which has already become the largest Asian research center.
“Many people from around the world want to visit IIAS. Similarly, AIIOC has the opportunity to become a large interdisciplinary research center. They have successfully organized 13th ICAS, focusing on learning, discussion, and interdisciplinary research,” he explained.
Aiming reputation improvement
Peycam expressed his admiration for UNAIR’s efforts and dedication to its collaboration. UNAIR’s enthusiasm to enhance its reputation was highly praised by Peycam.
“UNAIR is always obsessed with enhancing its reputation, making various efforts including improving the quality of education. If UNAIR didn’t have this obsession, our collaboration might not have continued,” he said in an exclusive interview with UNAIR NEWS.
AIIOC Potential
Peycam is confident that within the next five to ten years, AIIOC will gain global recognition. An expanding AIIOC will facilitate the exchange of knowledge between countries.
“If people want to learn about Europe, Europeans can come to AIIOC without Indonesians needing to go to Europe. Although this requires a long process, I believe with cooperation, it is not impossible,” he emphasized.