EduAsiaNews, Surabaya —
The morning at Campus II Lidah Wetan of Universitas Negeri Surabaya (Unesa) felt different on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. At the rectorate building, a state delegation was warmly welcomed. The Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Culture of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, José Honório da Costa Pereira Jerónimo, attended in person to explore strategic cooperation in higher education, science, and human resource development. The visit marked a new chapter in academic relations between Surabaya and Dili.
Accompanied by several key officials—ranging from technical advisers on cooperation to education staff from the Timor-Leste Consulate General—Jerónimo sat down with Unesa’s leadership. The meeting went beyond diplomatic formality, serving instead as a forum for exchanging ideas on how higher education can function as a bridge for cross-border development. The main focus was clear: the quality of human resources as the foundation of Timor-Leste’s future.
Unesa Rector Nurhasan, widely known as Cak Hasan, described the meeting as an important step toward strengthening strategic partnerships. He noted that there are many areas of collaboration that can be pursued immediately, from education and scholarship programs to collaborative research and community service. “Strengthening human resources through education is the key. That is something we can achieve together,” he said.
For Unesa, international cooperation is not merely about signing documents. The university, Cak Hasan emphasized, continues to promote impact-driven programs both domestically and internationally. Sending lecturers for community service, appointing visiting professors, and conducting joint research with partners in Timor-Leste were cited as concrete initiatives currently being prepared. Internationalization, in Unesa’s view, must translate into tangible action.
From Timor-Leste’s perspective, Jerónimo stressed that the visit carried a strategic mission. His government sees higher education as the primary pathway to accelerating improvements in the quality of national human resources. “We want to strengthen academic collaboration with Unesa, particularly to speed up improvements in the quality of our higher education,” he said.
The meeting ultimately narrowed down to several initial agreements: initiating institutional cooperation, developing joint programs, and enhancing higher education–based human resource collaboration. Both sides hope the partnership will not remain at the level of discourse. Jerónimo expressed his expectation that concrete steps can be realized soon—because behind the negotiation table, the future of the younger generations of the two nations is being shaped. (**)
