Daegu Health College (DHC) launched Leading University Project for International Cooperation in the higher education sector as part of Korea’s ODA (Official Development Assistance) project in 2022 to strengthen the educational capabilities of Indonesia’s dental technology programme in cooperation with the Medical Industry Division of Daegu city government. With Jakarta Health Polytechnic II, one of the leading universities in Indonesia, the project aims to develop the dental technology educational curriculum, establish an advanced dental technology educational environment with digital facilities, and educate the public and promote the public oral health programme for the community.
First, DHC provided necessary equipment including dust collectors, teaching tables, and casting hoods to improve the dental technology classrooms’ environment and the health of students after a discussion with Jakarta Health Polytechnic II. DHC also helped create a feasible curriculum in favor of digital dental technology education and implemented it to develop competent technicians by building an industry-academic cooperation network that reflects the voices of the dental industry into the curriculum with survey results. In addition, DHC introduced K-Dental online content for advanced education and cultivated the skills of dental technology faculty. DHC opened a special dental technology training programme for current working technicians to further develop their skills.
In 2023, DHC invited the director and six faculty members of Jakarta Health Polytechnic II and officials from the Indonesian Ministry of Health to Daegu, Korea for a workshop along with DHC faculty members of dental technology. The workshop offered a valuable platform to exchange and share dental technology knowledge and a chance to consolidate the cooperation between the two institutions. Further, volunteering for oral health promotion in the community was also implemented in the same year with a group of dentists, faculty, and students of dental technology and dental hygiene. Fluoride application, oral disease prevention education, and denture cleaning were given to students and teachers at an elementary school and also to people in Gunung Urban Village of Kebayoran Baru District in South Jakarta.[F1] Entering the third year of Korea’s ODA project, DHC is going to open a Digital Dental Technology Education Centre equipped with CAD/CAM and automatic facilities at Jakarta Health Polytechnic II. DHC will continue to support the tailor-made textbook development and the establishment of an advanced educational environment for the cultivation of Indonesian students and dental technicians collaborating with Jakarta Health Polytechnic II.
