Malaysia’s Architect Board Certifies UII’s Architecture Major

Yogyakarta—The Architecture Major of Universitas Islam Indonesia’s (UII) Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning (FTSP) has again received international recognition.

Having successfully obtained two consecutive Korean Architectural Accrediting Board (KAAB) accreditations since 2017, UII’s Architecture Major has again received international recognition by obtaining the Malaysian Architectural Institute’s (LAM) Part 1 and Part 2 accreditations.

These LAM accreditations put UII and its Architecture Major as the Indonesia’s and Asia’s first campus and major that received the international recognitions.

The LAM certificate handover ceremony took place at the Mohammad Natsir Building in UII’s Main Campus on Wednesday, 17 May 2023 and was broadcast via the university’s YouTube channel.

Head of UII’s Architecture Major, Prof. Ar. Noor Cholis Idham, Ph.D., said in his remarks that the certificates recognized the international quality of UII’s architecture major. This means that all its graduates will be internationally recognized and will not experience obstacles pursuing a career anywhere in the world.

According to Noor Cholis Idham, LAM Malaysia is an international architectural education certification institution that adopts the system of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). This institution has carried out numerous validations in multiple countries, including those in Europe and Australia. Therefore, he said this showed that UII’s Architecture Major had been fully recognized for its quality by KAAB under the Canberra Accord and LAM, which is equivalent to RIBA.

“LAM has given its recognition through its International Validation mechanism,” he said.

UII’s Architecture Undergraduate Program (S.Ars/B.Arch) was awarded LAM Part 1. Meanwhile, the LAM Part 2 was awarded to the Architect Professional Program (PPAr/Ar) and the Architecture Postgraduate Program (M.Ars/M.Arch). All certifications are valid from 2022 to 2027.

UII Rector Prof. Fathul Wahid, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D. congratulated the Architecture Major and expressed his pride of the major’s hard work. “This achievement makes UII at par with universities in Commonwealth nations,” said Fathul Wahid in his remarks.

With these certifications, UII Architecture’s all three program studies have received international recognition and can welcome students from Commonwealth countries.

UII’s Architecture Major has different architectural education options. They are the 4-year regular and international undergraduate programs (IP) for the S.Ars/B.Arch degree, the 5th-year professional program (PPAr/Ar), the full 4+1-year architectural program (S. Ars+Ar), the master’s program (M.Ars), the PPAr+M.Ars Fast Track Program (Ar+M.Ars), and the double-degree master’s program (M.Arch+MLA) in collaboration with the Master of Landscape of Architecture program at TU Anhalt in Germany.

Working towards an independent architectural accreditation institute

The Dean of FTSP UII, Dr. Eng. Ir. Ilya Fadjar Maharika, MA., IAI., said that UII’s Architecture Major was part of a working group to formulate the establishment of an Indonesian architectural accreditation institute that could be developed into an Independent Accreditation Institute (LAM) for Architecture.

“It is crucial that accreditations aren’t only used to legitimize or label the quality of education, but rather they become a token of exchange that can ensure mobility between countries under the basis of mutual understanding and equality,” he told a press conference after the ceremony. “This process is very important.”

“It is vital for specific professional fields like architecture to have a professional accreditation institution that is also specific,” he added.

“LAM in Malaysia is not just looking at UII personally. They are looking at how education in Indonesia is run by taking UII as an example,” the dean said.

This happy awards momentum was also accompanied by the success of two UII Architecture lecturers in achieving professorship. The university believes that two new professors—Prof. Dr. Ir. Sugini, ST. MT., I.A.I, GP. and Prof. Ir. Suparwoko, MURP., PhD., I.A.I.—will further improve UII’s quality of education in the fields of technology, building science and urban design science.

Prof. Sugini has played a big role in the development of teaching and research in building performance, while Prof. Suparwoko has been active in the realm of urban and residential designs. (VIP Magazine Vol 10)