Students from the Centre of Studies for Town and Regional Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying (FSPU) Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia recently visited Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia as part of their continuous assessment for Comparative Planning Studies subject. The academic visit was organised by 27 enthusiastic students from the Bachelor of Town and Regional Planning (Hons) programme, FSPU accompanied by their lecturer Ishak Che Abdullah.
This visit which was held from 21st to 26th October 2019 had the aim to expose the town and regional planning students to town planning practices in the ASEAN countries. The team spent 3 days in Bandung and 2 days in Jakarta visiting universities in Indonesia and iconic landmarks in the cities.
The highlight of the academic visit was visiting the School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, Institut Teknologi Bandung. The students were given a lecture by Bagas Dwipantara Putra, a lecturer from the Urban and Regional Planning Study Program on the Urban Planning Practices in Indonesia. This session provided students with a good platform to establish networking with students from Institut Teknologi Bandung.
Students also visited Main Square Garden of Bandung to study the important aspects of placemaking. Placemaking is a multifaceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces and looks into reinventing urban designs of cities and creating vibrant public spaces for people. The students observed and gathered valuable insights on urban designs by understanding how the local people use the space for social interaction.
In Jakarta, the students were exposed to various urban designs of the commercial business district and were also able to compare the public transportation system in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
Most students said that “the academic visit was a good platform to expose us to town and planning practices in other countries and the visit provided us with valuable experience outside the classroom.”
“Reconnect the World by Exploring Beyond Boundaries”
Prepared by: Ishak Che Abdullah, FSPU, UiTM
Edited by : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Geetha Subramaniam, Fellow, InQKA,UiTM