Prof. Dr. Felicitas Hillmann, Adjunct Professor at DPWK Undip, is a professor from Technische Universität (TU) Berlin, with a specialization on urban planning and migration. The Adjunct Professor program as part of the World Class University (WCU) Program at Undip invited her to enhance the international exposure for DPWK Undip, especially in research, teaching, and innovation development in various academic activities. This program is also in line with the ASIIN international accreditation that DPWK Undip has obtained in early 2022.
Prof. Felicitas shares her interesting reflections from her experience during the Adjunct Professor Program at Undip, as follows:
Q: How did your interest in this topic drive you to participate in the Adjunct Professor program at Undip? Is there any specific contribution that you would like to bring to this program?
A: I am in contact with Undip for more than 10 years, because we did a study on migration in coastal area of Java. This was when I came to Prof. Wiwik and Prof. Iwan, as they had also been in contact with Germany. We began conducting surveys in collaboration with Undip, and since then, we have continued to work together. We have a program at TU Berlin which is called SMUS or GCSMUS (Global Center of Spatial Methods for Urban Sustainability) that involves many scholars from Undip. We also have doctoral students from Indonesia at TU Berlin. So, when Prof. Wiwik asked me to join as an adjuct professor, I think it was perfect.
We are also focusing on micro studies that precisely highlight the emerging topics. Germany and Indonesia currently have an agreement on the recruitment of nurses in the future. I think that it is an important topic for both countries, and it is interesting in academic terms because when we speak about population, it is not so much as in the past years when we speak about fertility and mortality, but much more on migration. Migration needs fair and smart government, to benefit the country of origin and the country of destination and also the migrants themselves. This could be a chance for development, because migration needs to be connected to sustainable development. The gender topic is also important, largely on how women can perform. Both topics are extensively elaborated in DPWK Undip, and I enjoy learning about it.
These two topics then need to be considered in future research. In line with the perspective of Urban and Regional Planning for human life sustainability. The question is, “What can we do regarding the well-being of people and environmental changes (including climate change)? What can we offer? How can sustainability be achieved in demographic terms?”.
In addition to my research background, I also have the opportunity to join field trips here, and I really enjoy it.
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Q: You have been here since September. How do you feel?
A: I enjoy it very much. Of course, there are problems about adaptation, but people are very friendly. I also started to learn Bahasa Indonesia. I have to appreciate the country’s culture – for example: batik, because not every country has it. I do also struggle with some issues, such as the temperature. But overall, I enjoy my visit here.
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Q: Is there any exciting or unforgettable experience in this department or during your Adjunct Professor program that you would like to share?
A: Together with my colleague, Prof. Wiwik, for the fieldtrip in the Phillipines, to see the problems for nurses. As we do the micro studies, we felt like we need to go to the Phillipines to understand better. We met our colleague in the NUPS Network (Network Unit Paradigm Shift – a network that connects scholars in the knowledge field of migration specifically on two central topics in an interdisciplinary framework) and we spoke with many people in Phillipines for some days. That was very interesting for me to travel together with Prof. Wiwik and to do interviews.
Prof. Felicitas at the fieldtrip for Planning Studio in Kalijajar District, Wonosobo
And also, for the trip in Wonosobo, it is interesting to see how your department seeks transdisciplinary approach through the Planning Studio course.
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Q: What do you think about our department’s learning approach?
A: Yesterday I had a lecture with Bu Landung on different models of urban regeneration in Europe: Berlin, Genoa, and Rome (Past, presence, and future). It was so amazing, it is interactive, and I think we can learn from international comparison a lot.
I enjoyed the teaching very much, and I think it is a good approach in this department, because it focused on internationalization to have some sort of learning exchange about policy. I think that is a way forward, because I see one of the major problems here in Indonesia is related with the environment (waste and plastic management). This could be difficult but also easy because I have seen an example in Tambaklorok during our fieldtrip – I wrote this on my blog, on the following links:
- Part 1:
- Part 2:
- Part 3:
I think Tambaklorok is a very good example about how things change and also the sinking environment. We have to start thinking about a holistic policy. This is an example of why internationalization for a learning exchange is important and interesting. Students here are very open to the new ideas, and I noticed that Indonesian students giggles much more, which is good.
Prof. Felicitas as Guest Lecturer on ” Different Models of Urban Regeneration in Europe: Berlin, Genoa, and Rome (Past, Present, and Future)”
Q: Undip aspires to become a World-Class University. Do you have any specific expectations, hope, or wishes regarding to the future of Undip, or specifically for Urban and Regional Planning Department?
A: That is a way forward, the way that has already emphasized is good. I would not point too much on publishing in journals. It is all about having a lively community of scholars, where they can learn interesting topics and students doing researchs that are relevant, and to seek international collaboration, for example joint seminars.
For example, there are 12 students from Germany here, and it is so impressive for our students to see how it works on another country, and also interesting for the students from Undip to see the approaches that they used as well. If we can learn from each other, I think it is a way to go. Not to just point too much only on the countable products, because it will not bring us any innovation. The lively community of students and lectures is more important. University has a duty to be an independent stakeholder, because people in the field would speak openly if you came from university, so we can see certain problems and get things better.