In order to introduce the internship program in Australia, the Northern Terrritory Cattlemen’s Association (NTCA) visited Faculty of Animal Science (FAS) UGM on Thursday (1/23). The visit was received by the Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Ir. Budi Guntoro, S.Pt., M.Sc., Ph.D., IPU., ASEAN Eng.
“By joining the internship program organized by NTCA, we hope that students will get a lot of experience on farms in Australia,” Budi said in his remarks at the NTCA Sharing Session.
Romy Carey, NTCA’s executive officer, revealed that NTCA represented 90% of the livestock industry in the Northern Territory with a mission to advance and protect the interests of farmers in the Northern Territory.
Romy added, the total value of slaughter cattle exported increased to 133% since 2010 compared to an increase in beef exports by 104%. With the increase in population and income in the Asian region, beef demand will not decrease.
Ir. Robi Agustiar, S.Pt as the representative of Indonesia Association of Animal Sciences, said that by joining an internship at NTCA, students will get two standardized certificates of assistant and manager. “Later on, this certificate can be used to register to work in Australia,” Robi said.
Alvian, FAS UGM student who joined the internship program in 2019, revealed that before participating in an internship, participants had training first.
“We were trained at PT Widodo Makmur Perkasa. After arriving in Australia, we attended another training at Alice Spring. Here, we are taught how to ride horses, handle cattle, and drive vehicles to herd cattle. This training was held in preparation before working in the station. In addition, there is also a short lecture for 2 weeks,” Alvian said during the discussion session. (Nadia)