Parahyangan Catholic University

Universitas Katolik Parahyangan (UNPAR) or Parahyangan Catholic University is a private university in Bandung, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest private universities in Indonesia.

History

The history of Parahyangan Catholic University goes back to January 17, 1955, when the late Bishop of Bandung, Mgr. P.M. Arntz, in cooperation with Bishop of Bogor, Mgr. Prof. Dr. N.J.C. Geise, established a trade academy named Akademi Perniagaan. In August 1955, the academy became Parahyangan Socio-Economic Institution of Higher Learning (now the Faculty of Economy).

In September 15, 1955, the Faculty of Law was established; this changed the name “Parahyangan Socio-Economic Institution of Higher Learning” in to “Parahyangan Catholic Institution of Higher Learning”. In October 31, 1955, a foundation based on legal institution was established as an education organization body of Parahyangan Catholic Institution of Higher Learning.

In 1960, the Faculty of Engineering was established with two departments, Architecture and Civil Engineering, followed by the Faculty of Social and Political Science in 1961. In the same year, the Indonesian government established a law regarding institutions of higher learning, thus the name “Parahyangan Catholic Institution of Higher Learning” changed in to “Parahyangan Catholic University” and gain government’s accreditation on September 19, 1962 and in 1981.

Today the university has seven faculties with more than 16 departments, all with government accreditation.With more than 10,000 students, each year UNPAR graduates more than 2,000 professionals.

Vision and mission

Vision

UNPAR’s vision for the year 2020 expresses the aspiration of the academic community of Parahyangan Catholic University, which is formulated by and based on its aphorism Bakuning Hyang Mrih Guna Santyaya Bhakti (based on belief in God, pursuing knowledge to serve the community) and the results of an analysis of UNPAR’s existence in the past, present, and future.

A brief description of UNPAR’s vision for 2020 can be formulated as follows: Being a faith-based academic community that develops the local potential at an international level for the sake of raising the level of human dignity.

The objective of the university is expressed as a symbol, which has as a slogan "Bakuning Hyang Mrih Guna Santyaya Bhakti", which means that based on divinity it is demanded that the sciences are devoted to society.

The symbol consists of:

• A red and white cross on a black background: The form gives expression to the founder of this university, which is the diocese of Bandung. Since the founding of the university it has been supported by of the Order of the Holy Cross, Bandung.
• A circle with 45 green wings, 8 white wheel spokes and 17 white serrations, which symbolize year, month and day of the Indonesian independence.
• A yellow triangle circled symbolizes the Trinity, which is at the heart of the Christian faith in God.
• Background of a yellow lotus symbolizes the divine spirit.
• Five yellow paper flower leaves, which is the symbol of the philosophy of the Indonesian state, i.e., Pancasila.
• The yellow background is the symbolic color of the Catholic Church.

Faculties

There are seven faculties in the university:

• Faculty of Economic with three majors: Management, Accounting and Economic Development
• Faculty of Engineering with two majors: Civil Engineering and Architecture Engineering
• Faculty of Social and Political Science with three majors: Public Administration, Business Administration, and International Relations
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Philosophy
• Faculty of Industry and Technology with two majors: Industrial Engineering and Chemical Engineering
• Faculty of Information Technology and Science with three majors: Information Technology, Mathematics and Physics

Achievements

In February 2009, a team consisting of 15 students from Parahyangan Catholic University won the "Outstanding Delegation Award" in the Harvard National Model United Nations 2009. This was considered a significant achievement because Parahyangan Catholic University is one of the only three universities in the Asian continent to win an award in HNMUN 2009, which had over 3,000 participants from 35 countries.

A world ranking, human competitiveness index and analysis by the Human Resources & Labor Review, published in Chasecareer Network Indonesia, ranked the university eighth in Indonesia in 2010^[1] and 350th-400th in the world.^[2]

In December 2011, a team consisting of two law students from Parahyangan International Law Society (PILS) represented the Asia region to compete win the Third World Human Rights Moot Court Competition in University of Pretoria, South Africa. The team defeated all of its Asian rivals Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines) and National Law Institute, University of Bhopal (India) and went as far the semi-finals Third World Human Rights Moot Court Competition in South Africa.

In almost every year, the representative of International Relations Department students for PNMHII (Pertemuan Nasional Mahasiswa Hubingan Internasional se-Indonesia) achieved the award of Best Delegation for their performance in the Short Diplomatic Course. In the same event, the students also obtained various awards in each year for their presentation in the 'diskusi ilmiah'. PNMHII is an annual meeting and conference of International Relations students all over Indonesia.

Student affairs

Student affairs are supervised by the vice-rector for Student Affairs, and the university student president.

Student activities include:

• Sports: basketball, soccer, chess, tennis, table tennis, softball, badminton, volleyball, hockey, bridge, aerobics, swimming, diving, etc.
• Self-defense arts: such as Tae Kwon Do, Kempo, Kateda, Silat Pajajaran (traditional self-defense), Perisai Diri, Judo, Karate, Wushu, Nampon, Sinar Teratai, Aikido, Ju Jit Su, Boxer, and Kendo.
• Arts: local traditional arts, includes Indonesian traditional dances, traditional music (Karawitan) and other Indonesian traditional arts.
• Choir: It was established 50 years ago (1962) and has been very successful over the years even in international competition; it has won contests in Europe several times.
• To bring awareness to the environment and surroundings and develop the community, UNPAR facilitates environmental and community-based activities: nature lovers, blood fonors, voluntary corps, community science study group, Parahyangan photography unit.
• Academic-based activities: Parahyangan English Club, Parahyangan Programmer’s Club, Parahyangan English Debating Society.

See also

• Education in Indonesia

References