In a double degree program, students attend their educational program at two universities and receive a title from both institutes. The UT has multiple programs like this, but the Chemical Engineering Department is the first to be officially acknowledged by the Executive Board, said Ben Betlem, director of educational programs for chemical engineering.
The UT part of the double degree program is comprised of the subject specialization chemistry and technology of materials, which consists of 75 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits, including a dissertation project lasting for nine months. In Indonesia students already have a basic part of 60 ECTS credits completed.
Betlem sees three important advantages in cooperating with the Indonesian university. `We want to instruct PhD students ourselves, and in this way we hope to select the best candidates. In addition, the UT is striving to gain an international reputation, and moreover the chemical industry operates in a global work environment. For our own students, it's a good experience to work in such an international context.'
The double degree is mostly paid for by the Indonesian government, who places importance on students attending foreign universities. The UT pays for about half of the tuition fee (a little over four thousand euros) for each student, and all other costs, like traveling expenses and accommodation are paid for by Indonesia.
