IIIU lecturer visited the SEAMEO CECCEP's Office

26 January 2023- SEAMEO CECCEP received a visit from the Indonesian International Islamic University (IIIU). Prof. Nina Nurmila, Ph.D., the dean of the Faculty of Education, with eight lecturers and staff, visited the SEAMEO CECCEP Office to discuss and identify the potential for collaboration. It is hoped that later a collaboration program can be agreed upon to strengthen and ensure the achievement of the cooperation goals between SEAMEO CECCEP and the Indonesian International Islamic University.

Prof. Nina pointed out that this visit was an initial discussion to establish further collaboration. Prof. Nina explained that IIIU is one of Indonesia's new campuses with a program to expand domestic and foreign academic networks. In her speech, She wanted to work together in quality improvement to carry out Higher Education Tridharma activities.

"We also want to know more about SEAMEO CECCEP and discuss potential collaboration possibilities so that our campus can benefit our human resources and the wider community. We want to follow up on this collaboration regarding students who can do internships at the SEAMEO CECCEP office," said Prof. Nina.

In the discussion, Prof. Vina, director of SEAMEO CECCEP, also introduced the profile of SEAMEO CECCEP. SEAMEO, an international organization established in 1965, is an intergovernmental organization in Southeast Asia to promote cooperation in education, science, and culture. The Secretariat is located in Bangkok, Thailand. There are 26 SEAMEO Regional Centers spread across Southeast Asia. A total of 7 Centers and 1 Network for science development. SEAMEO CECCEP also supports the SDGs program to ensure inclusive and equal quality education and supports lifelong learning opportunities for all, which promotes education for sustainable development. Education must be a place of mobility in improving Human Resources.

Vina also said that in 2023 SEAMEO CECCEP would also play a role in reducing the problem of stunting in early childhood. We have a Parenting Program for Stunting Preventive (PPSP) module. In addition to the module for reducing stunting, we also conduct ethnoparenting research for parenting in Indonesia. Given the need to develop a responsive parenting model. Currently, SEAMEO CECCEP also identifies care for people in Padang and central Java in Indonesia.

On the other hand, SEAMEO CECCEP has a parenting and loving care module (P2K2S). This module is based on mindful parenting. SEAMEO CECCEP also has the Our Happy Neighborhood (OHN) module, one of which focuses on Happy teachers and gender-social inclusion. The OHN module was formed to manifest that ECE is an ecosystem that cannot be separated into all elements. Early childhood education requires support from various parts, not only the responsibility of teachers or parents.

Tati D Wardani, Ph.D., Head of the Masters of Education study program, strongly agrees that improving the quality of early childhood education requires cooperation from various parties. Including increasing the capacity of human resources through an internship program. Through this internship program, students can gain experience and have the opportunity to provide expertise and skills that can be useful in the future. In addition, SEAMEO CECCEP and IIIU can cooperate in the fields of attending conferences, publications, and joint research.

The collaboration between the Faculty of Education, IIIU and SEAMEO CECCEP was closed with an agreement to contribute mutually or a win-win solution. Partner not as a competitor but as a good partner.