Airlangga University


Airlangga University is the second-oldest university in Indonesia and also a public university located in Surabaya, East Java. Despite being officially established by Indonesian Government Regulation in 1954, Airlangga University was first founded in 1948 as a distant branch of the University of Indonesia, with roots dating back to 1913. It started with a medical school and school of dentistry. Now Airlangga University hosts 15 faculties with more than 35,000 students and 1,570 faculty members. Airlangga University has university hospitals for the faculties of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, and Dentistry, as well as a tropical infection hospital for its Institute of Tropical Disease. The university is also equipped with biosafety level three facilities.
Consistently ranked highly in major world university rankings, Airlangga University have long been considered as one of the "Big 5" university in Indonesia, along with University of Indonesia, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bogor Agricultural University, and Gadjah Mada University.
Airlangga University has international partnerships worldwide, including with University of Bonn, Seoul National University, and University of Adelaide.

History

Before Airlangga University was established on October 11, 1847, the proposal to educate young Javanese to become health experts was submitted to the Dutch colonial government. On May 8, 1913 — through Edict No. 4211 of the Governor General of the Netherlands-Indies — NIAS was founded as a medical education center in Surabaya. The first medical institution is located in Jl. Kedungdoro 38, Surabaya. In 1923, NIAS was moved to its present-day location of the Faculty of Medicine of Airlangga University, on Jl. Major General Prof. Dr. Moestopo, Surabaya.
Dr. Lonkhuizen, the director of the Department of Health, proposed the establishment of School of Dentistry in Surabaya. He received approval from Dr. R.J.F. Van Zaben, the succeeding director of NIAS and the new school was opened in July 1928. Later on, the school was better known as STOVIT with 21 students. Later during the Japanese occupation STOVIT was renamed Ika-Shika Daigaku under the supervision of Dr. Takeda as its first director, while NIAS was closed down.
Two years later, the post-WW II Dutch colonial government took over Ika-Shika Daigaku and then changed its name to Tandheelkundig Instituut and NIAS was reopened as Faculteit der Geneeskunde. In 1948, the dentistry institute changed its status to Universitair Tandheelkundig Instituut . Later after Republik Indonesia Serikat gained its official independence in 1950, UTI was renamed LIKG for four years, under the leadership of Prof. M. Knap and Prof. M. Soetojo. In 1948, both schools became part of University of Indonesia's Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry.
Airlangga University was established by Government Regulation No. 57/1954 and was inaugurated by the first president of the Republic of Indonesia on November 10, 1954, coinciding with the celebration of the ninth national Heroes' Day. In the same year, the Faculty of Law of Airlangga University was established.

Namesake and Coat of Arms

The name Airlangga is taken from the name of the reigning king of East Java in 1019-1042, Rakai Halu Sri Lokeswara Dharmawangsa Airlangga Anantawikramattungadewa. Airlangga University's Coat of Arms is the mythical bird Garuda — the magical bird ridden by Vishnu — who carries an urn containing the eternal water "Amrta". This symbol represents Airlangga University as the source of eternal knowledge.
The colors of the flag of Airlangga University are dominated by yellow and blue; yellow symbolizing the golden greatness and blue symbolising the depth of the soul of a warrior. These colors are taken from the veil that covered Vishnu's statue at the founding ceremony of Airlangga University by the first president of the Republic of Indonesia on November 10, 1954.

Campuses

Airlangga University's faculty campuses are as follows:
There are 16 faculties in Airlangga University and 132 study programs offered:
The QS Asian University Ranking 2014 have placed Airlangga University as the best university in "Citations per paper" category. In 2010, Airlangga University was ranked 466th worldwide according to the Top 500 QS World University Rankings 2010, as well as ranked 86th in the Top 200 QS Asian University Rankings 2011. In the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities 2011, Airlangga University was placed fourth in Indonesia and 22nd in the Southeast Asia region.
Airlangga University has two internationally standardized quality management certificates for its management quality. For this reason, Airlangga University has been the destination of foreign students who choose to study in Indonesia, particularly from Malaysia, Japan, Timor Leste, China, Thailand, and some European and African countries.
The Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Pharmacy are among the best life science schools in Indonesia, ranked 45th in Asia and 356th in the world by QS World University Rankings 2011. The Faculty of Medicine is affiliated with the Dr. Soetomo Regional General Hospital, the biggest hospital in Eastern Indonesia and one of the central referral-hospital in Indonesia.

Notable alumni