Institut Teknologi Bandung

ITB has planned to expand its campus area in the Cirebon Regency, West Java Province since 2015. Finally, this campus is open for learning and teaching activities for all ITB academicians. The ITB Cirebon Campus was inaugurated on Monday, 17 January 2022 by the Rector of ITB, Prof. Reini Wirahadikusumah, Ph.D. This inauguration process and the opening of the educational activity were carried out live on the Cirebon Campus and were broadcasted publicly through ITB's YouTube channel Live Streaming.

The procession was opened with opening remarks from ITB Rector. During the occasion, Prof. Reini conveyed her emotional feeling when she first set foot on this campus after a long time of waiting. She said that ITB has been trying to start the educational activities in the Cirebon Campus since last year. However, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the plan needs to be delayed until early 2022. All the parties behind this campus construction concept on how to make the existence of this new campus is not merely an addition of a new building and new study program. They wanted the Cirebon Campus to have its significance. "Cirebon Campus has its own characteristic, but remains on par with other ITB Campuses," said her.

Undergraduate Study Program that is currently available in the Cirebon Campus are: 1.) Urban and Regional Planning (SAPPK ITB), 2.) Industrial Engineering (FTI ITB), 3.) Craft (FSRD ITB), 4.) Oceanography (FITB ITB) and 5.) Geophysics Engineering (FTTM ITB). ITB has also planned to add two new Undergraduate Study Program shortly, that is Petroleum Engineering and Mining Engineering. During her speech, Prof. Reini explained that ITB is contributing to providing access to higher education and wanted to create a campus that is in line with its motto, to be Locally Relevant and Globally Respected.

The procession was also attended by some regional officials of the Cirebon Regency. One of them is the Cirebon Mayor, Drs. H. Imron Rosyadi, M. Ag. "On behalf of the government and the people of Kabupaten Cirebon, I am very grateful that in Cirebon there is an excellent and well-known state university, that is ITB," said the Cirebon Mayor.

He expressed his desire to work closely with the ITB students in maximizing the potential of the natural resource that is stored in this regency. According to him, Cirebon has excellent natural potential. However, it has a high level of poverty that hindered its natural resources to be utilized optimally. With time, the economic cycle in Cirebon will be more active and diverse thus bringing economic benefits to its residents. In addition, Imron Rosyadi hopes that more Cirebon residents can study at ITB.

The inauguration and opening of the Cirebon Campus were followed by the signing of a stone inscription by the ITB Rector. After that, the procession was continued with tree planting as a symbol of the inauguration of this ITB new campus. The species of the tree that was planted is Samanea saman, locally known as Trembesi. This species was chosen because its growth rate matched the local climate in Cirebon.

Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019) Reporter: Hanan Fadhilah Ramadhani (Civil Engineering, 2019)