The opt-bank program is designed to strengthen Indonesian universities’ research capacities in the field of banking and finance by training and by increasing the international exposure of scholars and students to help them attain higher research standards in the field of banking and finance. This program is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. This project consortium involves four universities in the European Union and six universities in Indonesia. The EU partners are Universite de Limoges (France), Bangor University (United Kingdom), Universita Degla Studi Roma Tre (Italy), and Technical University of Crete (Greece). The Indonesian partners are Universitas Sebelas Maret, Institut Teknologi Bandung, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Universitas Sriwijaya, Universitas Syiah Kuala, and Universitas Tanjung Pura.
One of the activities carried out in this opt-bank program is a senior faculty member research visit from Indonesian partner universities to partner universities in the European Union. This senior faculty member research visit activity has produced two new professors, namely Prof. Doddy Setiawan, Ph.D. (Universitas Sebelas Maret) and Prof. Dr. Mohammad Nur Rianto Al Arif (UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta). They are senior research fellows who sent to Universite de Limoges in 2018.
Prof. Doddy Setiawan, Ph.D., was officially appointed as professor in Financial Accounting on September 8, 2020, at Universitas Sebelas Maret. Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Nur Rianto Al Arif was officially appointed as an Islamic economics professor on December 16, 2020, at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. This achievement is one proof of the success that has been generated through the opt-bank program.
