OBSERVE! No mention of how much Aussie Taxpayers are Contributing to THIS! - Government to Send 5,000 Indonesians to Australia to Obtain Doctorate Degrees, With a Focus on Islamic Studies

The directorate general of Islamic education at the Ministry of Religious Affairs signed a cooperation agreement with the Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) to send 5,000 Indonesian students to Australia for their PhD studies, at the Embassy of Australia in Jakarta on Wednesday (10/08). (JG Photo/Ratri M. Siniwi)

The directorate general of Islamic education at the Ministry of Religious Affairs signed a cooperation agreement with the Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) to send 5,000 Indonesian students to Australia for their PhD studies, at the Embassy of Australia in Jakarta on Wednesday (10/08).

The director general, Kamaruddin Amin said that the agreement will help university lecturers further their education, especially in the field of Islamic studies.

“The vision is to develop Indonesia into a center for Islamic education, especially being a Muslim majority country,” Kamaruddin said.

He added the program has been backed by the government, with Rp 500 billion ($38.2 million) allocated in the state budget which will be used to fund student scholarships. He also revealed that the program falls in line with the ministry’s plans to build an international Islamic university in 2017 in Sawangan, Depok, West Java.

The scholarships given by the ministry will also be issued to students who wish to undertake other career paths, as ATN believes that a PhD will help Indonesian students venture further in their careers and help develop the country.

According to ATN executive director Renee Hindmarsh, the collaboration will not only strengthen the relationship between Australia and Indonesia, but will also help provide the students access to a world-class education.

"We hope that students who choose to study in one of our member universities will be able to graduate and step into the professional world and be able to create jobs for the future,” Hindmarsh said.

ATN is a consortium consisting of five Australian universities which are Queensland University of Technology (QUT), University of Technology, RMIT University, University of South Australia and Curtin University.