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As Indonesians celebrate National Education Day today, 2 May, let us take a trip down memory lane to the city of Bandung. About three hours' drive from the country's capital, this is where Swiss-Indonesian cooperation in education, with Swisscontact's contribution in the form of skills development programmes, began to build its lasting legacy. The city is situated about 800 metres above sea level, where the cooler days of the early 1970s could be compared to the end of spring in Switzerland today.
Of the now hundreds of vocational education and training (VET) institutions across the country, there was one that started it all, inspired by Swiss precision and skills: the Polyteknik Mekanik Swiss or PMS-ITB, now the Bandung Manufacturing Polytechnic (POLMAN Bandung). Its establishment was co-implemented by Swisscontact and Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), as Swiss and Indonesian counterparts, respectively. Swisscontact's role was to provide teaching materials and experts, as well as to build the workshops and provide them with practical equipment.
As the first of many, the polytechnic also marked the beginning of Swisscontact's presence, not only in Indonesia, but also in Asia, officially in 1974.
Moreover, through Swiss and Indonesian newfound cooperation on hospitality education at the time, the infamous National Hotel Institute (NHI) was born in 1973. Since then, the "NHI" part has been kept through several rebranding, until its latest official name since 2022, Bandung NHI Tourism Polytechnic (Poltekpar NHI Bandung).
Having partnered with Swisscontact before in WISATA II (2014-2018), Bandung NHI Tourism Polytechnic has been familiar with Swiss development programs on tourism and hospitality. Under a recent partnership with Swiss Skills for Competitiveness Initiative, Swisscontact in Indonesia has sent 6 of the polytechnic’s lecturers to Switzerland since 2023, as a part of the Swiss Federation for Adult Learning (SVEB) training.
At POLMAN Bandung, such results include not only the growth from three study programmes in 1976 to 13 today. It also inspired the development of six other polytechnics, as well as a training centre in Malang, East Java, starting in 1979, in partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Education. The ripple effect continued as the Vocational Education Development Centre (VEDC) Malang later sent some of its instructors to Aceh Province in 2005 for the Mobile Training Unit program, a post-tsunami relief effort to help survivors rebuild their homes and livelihoods.
On the other hand, Bandung NHI Tourism Polytechnic is more than just a rebranding success story. Over the years, it holds its prestigious standing due to their industry-ready graduates, thanks to the Swiss-inspired teaching qualities it has been maintaining. According to their 2023 tracer study, 76.92% of their graduates entered the private sector, and 61.34% of them work in the tourism industry.
"Many people know us as NHI, even though our name has changed over the years. This shows the extent to which we feel that the support of the Swiss government at that time has shaped the way we educate, bringing us decades of glorious reputation for our school," said Endang Komesty Sinaga, Vice Director of Academics and Quality Assurance of Bandung NHI Tourism Polytechnic, after welcoming the delegates on Tuesday (22 April).
Meanwhile, as he welcomed Swisscontact and the Embassy of Switzerland in Indonesia’s visit, Darma Firmansyah Undayat, Director of POLMAN Bandung, highlighted that looking ahead is as important as looking back at how far the partnership has achieved.
"The visit of the Swiss Deputy Head of Mission’s delegates to POLMAN Bandung marks an important milestone in building global synergy to develop a future workforce that is resilient, adaptable, and globally competitive,” he noted.
Since their inception, POLMAN Bandung and Bandung NHI Tourism Polytechnic have been helping to build up other VET institutions. Through Swiss tradition in VET teaching they consistently implement, both polytechnics have become role model for others by giving technical advice and trainings.
The visits to the two pioneering polytechnics also showed how the thriving impact of the Swiss-Indonesian partnership remains relevant.
The legacy of Switzerland-Indonesia partnership is also in line with the thoughts of Ki Hajar Dewantara, a decorated Indonesian educator and thinker. Born Raden Mas Soewardi Soerjaningrat in 1889, his birthday is immortalised as Indonesia's National Education Day, and he believed in the importance of skills development for humanity. As he once said, “Education must provide students with life skills that are applicable in the society.”