Jakarta. The School of Pharmacy at Pancasila University on Tuesday hosted a seminar with speakers from the University of California Berkeley in Jakarta.

The hybrid seminar invited University of California Berkeley’s lecturers George Anwar and Matthew P. Sherburne as its speakers to discuss the UCB’s history and researches conducted by the university’s experts.

The “In-Depth Talk about University of California Berkeley” has also opened up opportunities for a partnership between the two universities.

According to Syamsudin, the dean at Pancasila University’s School of Pharmacy, the partnership with the University of California Berkeley will encompass lecturer-student exchange, students continuing their education, guest lectures, among others. It will also include research partnership, professor visit, as well as postdoctoral and courses.

Pancasila University Rector Edie Toet Hendratno said the partnership could start with the School of Pharmacy, but would hopefully expand to other schools.

“The interuniversity collaboration is not only in the academic field, but going forward, it can develop according to the work program that has been agreed on. Pancasila University is ready to collaborate with the University of California Berkeley,” Edie said in a press statement.

“The partnership with such a reputable university like the University of California Berkeley will hopefully improve the quality of higher education to be better and superior in various fields,” Edie said.

Natura Nuswantara Nirmala (Nucleus Farma) as the event’s sole sponsor also expressed its support. 

According to Nucleus Farma board members and University of California Berkeley alumni Heryanto Komalo and Cipto Kokadir, the door for collaboration opportunities with academics is wide open. This includes academics from Pancasila University and the University of California Berkeley. 

Nucleus Farma finds that technology innovation and product development research are the cornerstones of collaboration with universities.

“Product development by experts will boost the people’s confidence in using research-based products,” Nucleus Farma chief executive officer Edward Basilianus said.

Matthew P. Sherburne told the seminar that many of his students were Indonesians who decided to continue their studies at the University of California Berkeley.

The conference also discussed the research on microphysiological systems (tissue chips) for drug development, gene editing, and environmental screening.

The event is also supported by the School of Pharmacy internal committee, which is chaired by Greesty F Swandiny, and seminar’s moderator Deni Rahmat.