On January 21-23, 2015, U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Andrew Sisson visited Malang, East Java to meet with USAID STEM and health partners, including Universitas Muhammadyah Malang (UMM), SMAN 2 Kepanjen, SMAN 10 Batu, and Health Center (Puskesamas) Turen.

On January 21, Mr. Sisson attended  a Science and Technology Expo at the UMM American Corner. The expo showcased  students’ science and technology projects from six high schools and UMM in Malang. USAID provides leadership and management training and support to UMM administrators through USAID’s Higher Education Leadership Management project.

“ What we are trying to accomplish through our visit is to learn what is the best ways to have effective STEM education, and what we are learning is that is very important to focus on the quality of teaching, the curriculum as well as, on the space and opportunity for the students to learn,” said Mission Director Sisson.

On January 22, Mr. Sisson visited SMAN 1 Kepanjen, one of the schools selected to pilot USAID’s School Action for Innovations in Science (SAInS) project in cooperation with Institute Pertanian Bogor (IPB) and Columbia University. Through this project, the school is equipped with a Fabrication Lab or FabLab where students are free to experiment and develop critical thinking skills through use of the lab’s high tech equipment, including vinyl and laser cutters and 3D printers. Mission Director Sisson also visited SMAN 2 Batu, one of the pilot schools for USAID’s SMART Lab program implemented by  Universitas Siswa Bangsa Indonesia (USBI), in collaboration with Tufts University, New York Hall of Science, and Intel. Mission Director Sisson attended the final round of the LEGO Mindstorms Competition between the students of SMAN 2 Batu and SMAN 10 Malang (another SMART Lab pilot school). The student groups built LEGO robots creations, including one robot that had  the ability to lift heavy weighted-objects  and  another  robot that was equipped with the functionality to place a flag on a flag post.