Six students and two professors of University of Tsukuba, Japan, have been staying here in MPBA since September 1, 2013 and will leave back for Japan today (September 13, 2013). Accompanied by five master students of MPBA and Civil Engineering, they conducted observations on the impact of Merapi eruption to water quality of surrounding rivers (click here to see some pictures of their activities).

Their visit is part of student exchange program between MPBA and University of Tsukuba, as part of a larger cooperation in the framework of SUSTEP-Asia (Sustainability, Science, Technology and Poligy – Asia). It is a network of 8 universities in Asia, that is University of Tsukuba (Japan), Fudan University (Shanghai), China University of Geosciences (Beijing), National Taiwan Normal University (Taiwan), VNU University of Science Hanoi (Vietnam), Ho Chi Minh City Univeristy of Technology (Vietnam), IPB (Bogor), and UGM. MPBA represents UGM in this SUSTEP-Asia network. In the future, SUSTEP-Asia will offer inter-diciplinary global education to students of its member institutions focusing on science, technology and policy related to environment.

As part of the exchange program, 3 MPBA students and 2 Civil Engineering master students will be staying in University of Tsukuba (UT) for one semester in this coming fall semester. During their 6 months of stay, the students will take courses and partial work on their thesis under joint supervision from UGM and UT professors. The five students receives scholarships from the Government of Japan through SUSTEP and G30 programs.