British Council Indonesia is looking for a potential UK Partner for a research project on English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) in Higher Education institutions in Indonesia and the enabling policy context and recommendations for supportive interventions.

Outcome of the project:

Indonesia has grown rapidly economically yet faces significant challenges of maintaining economic growth and climbing the income level ladder, both of which require improvements in productivity. Although an increasingly important player on the global stage, the opening of a common market in ASEAN with the free movement of labour in particular poses a significant challenge to Indonesia, particularly in terms of an adequate supply of an internationally skilled workforce.

Higher education plays a critical role providing the high-level skills and research and innovation to apply current technologies and to assimilate, adapt, and develop new technologies, two key drivers of productivity. The Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education is very much aware that in its current state, Indonesia’s tertiary sector still has a long way to go before it is able to fulfil this role. The Ministry has identified the internationalisation of its tertiary education system as critical to raising the quality of Higher Education in Indonesia. This internationalisation effort takes many forms, including internationalisation policies, student exchanges, collaborative degree programmes and courses and initiatives to recruit international students and staff. Underpinning internationalisation is the importance of English Language to facilitate joint programmes and qualifications, development, research collaboration, enable student and faculty mobility and develop a global outlook in Indonesian graduates.

Further, as the trend for Higher Education Institutions in non-English-speaking countries across ASEAN to make strategic efforts to internationalise and strengthen their global competitiveness, the focus on establishing – and extending – EMI courses and programmes has been part of the planned response, including in Indonesia. It is exemplified by the development of International Collaboration being legislated for, most recently under Article 50 of Legislation No 12/2012 on Higher Education, and Ministerial Regulation No 14/2014. In addition, significantly raising the standards of English in Higher Education has been identified by the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education, as critical to raising the quality and competitiveness of Indonesia’s Higher Education sector. Minister Muhammad Nasir has promised to enforce an English as Medium Instruction (EMI) programme across the country’s higher education sector as one specific remedy.

In Indonesia, EMI was originally started in school level, but lasted for only 7 years and officially ended in early 2013 (Ernanta, Ekatjahjana & Ana, 2013). A review of literature highlights some factors contributing to this failure at the school level with various causes such as low level of teachers’ and students’ English proficiency, lack of school support, guidance, and scaffolding for teachers in developing materials in English and unclear EMI policy and guidelines. Facing these problems, and the fact that EMI has been phased out in schools, the use of EMI programmes has recently been introduced at the university level in Indonesia. However, the practice of EMI in the Indonesian Higher Education Institutions context is still in its infancy and can be subject to the same issues as were faced at the school level. As such stakeholders (both teachers and policy makers) may have a limited understanding of EMI (Bax, 2010; Coleman, 2009; Hadisantosa, 2010; Coleman, 2011) as evidenced by the fact that supporting infrastructure and guidelines for EMI practice are still unavailable. A better understanding of needs and a clear implementation strategy needs to be developed to support transition and track progress to ensure envisaged benefits are delivered, and that EMI does not become a barrier to access and quality of outcomes.

To have better understanding as mentioned above, research and further study is needed to investigate current policy and practice of EMI within the HE Sector in Indonesia. The research also aims to provide comprehensive analysis which can inform the development of an inclusive EMI strategy which supports access, mobility and quality of outcomes for students.

Who is involved in the project:

• Ministry of Education in Indonesia

• Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education in Indonesia

• University or faculty leadership - key lecturers (not English)

• Language department leadership

• Language department staff/teachers

• Undergraduate / Post Graduate students

• Potential UK HE / ELT sector partners

Benefits for UK partner:

• Opportunity for UK Higher Education Institutions to develop links with Indonesia Higher Education Institutions

• Opportunity for UK Higher Education Institutions to develop relationship with Indonesian ministries

• Opportunity for brand exposure of UK Higher Education Institutions among Indonesian stakeholders

The UK partner would be expected to provide these following items:

Develop a research study in partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education which aims to:

• investigate the current policy and practice of EMI within the HE sector in Indonesia

• provide comprehensive analysis which can inform the development of an inclusive EMI strategy which supports access, mobility and quality of outcomes for students as well as the government of Indonesia and individual higher education institutions’ ambitions for internationalisation

The research study will be delivered in 2 phases:

Phase 1

• A survey and consultation with 20-30 Higher Education Institutions (state/private, religious-based/secular, and polytechnic), institutions and national bodies responsible for delivering courses through EMI

• In-depth analysis of current policy and practices of 4-5 selected Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia which have implemented EMI

• Presentation and discussion of findings and recommendations in the Research Report and Summary and at a policy round table event and/or conference in Indonesia and/or another location within East Asia

The research will be conducted through a survey, stakeholder interviews, observations as well as review and analysis of policy and curriculum documents. Reference to the global literature and evidence base will be made as appropriate.

Phase 2

• Co-development of an EMI implementation strategy which includes capacity development goals and standards for Higher Education Institutions stakeholders and recommend approaches and methodologies to achieve them

Some research key questions:

• What is the current ambition for EMI in Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia and how is this supported through national policy, local policies and implementation strategies?

• Who or what are the driving forces behind the implementation of EMI in Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia?

• What are the strategies, approaches and forms of EMI currently being implemented in Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia?

• What is working well and what is not working well? What are the key barriers and the opportunities?

British Council Indonesia's role in this collaboration:

The work of this assignment will be guided by British Council Indonesia team with support from the East Asia regional team and UK team. The British Council Indonesia team is responsible for managing the research, which includes but is not limited to:

• direct contact point for research manager of the provider
• approving final work plan and deliverables
• assessing the completion of services and deliverables against the approved work plan, supported by targets and indicators prior to paying invoices submitted by the research provider
• providing technical quality assurance on performance and all deliverables
• disseminating deliverables to relevant stakeholders

How to participate:

This Call for proposals is open only to UK organisations and institutions. The team undertaking this work will need to demonstrate:

• academic understanding of issues relating to English as a Medium of Instruction in the HE sector
• knowledge and understanding HE sector in developing contexts, preferably with a specific focus on East Asia and Indonesia
• track record of conducting similar research projects and reports

• track record of working with a range of partner organisations and stakeholders

• excellent communication skills with people of varying linguistic, educational, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds

The UK Institution is required to submit RFP Responses which contain the following 3 documents to Linda Djayusman (linda.djayusman@britishcouncil.or.id) with subject line ‘Indonesia State of EMI in HE Research”

• a covering letter outlining why their proposed team meets the criteria required
• short CV for all proposed team members
• brief proposal (up to 3 A4 pages maximum) outlining approach to the research brief, number of days required (desk research, remote and in-country) and daily rates of team members.

Key deliverables:

• Research proposal 

  The research proposal will refine the information presented in the initial proposal to bring greater precision to the planning and design of the research. It will be based on a preliminary review of the documentation and initial discussions with key stakeholders during planning stage.

• Research report draft   

  The research report and presentation should cover the following:

1. Rationale and purpose of research

2. Contextual overview of EMI in HE (global, regional and national)

3. Research scope and questions

4. Research methodology

5. Research findings

6. Recommendation

7. Bibliography

• Research summary presentation 

     The presentation should provide a summary of the report appropriate for delivery at policy round table or conference format.

Timeline:

Clarification deadline: 25 January 2019

Response deadline: 15 February 2019

Decision by British Council: 22 February 2019

Contract start date: 1 March 2019

Research period: March – April 2019

Draft Research Report: 24 May 2019

Presentation of Research Findings and Summary: end of June 2019