BANDUNG, INDONESIA — The Communication Studies Programme has officially solidified an international collaboration with Batangas State University (BatStateU, Philippines), Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR, Indonesia), and Lovely Professional University (LPU, India) to launch Journo Eskwela 2.0. Operating under the theme "Empowering Student-Journalists for Global Impact," the program runs virtually from November 23 to December 7, 2026.
The initiative was formally coordinated in a virtual preparation meeting on November 11, 2026 attended by academic leaders and institutional liaisons, including Head of Communication Studies Programme Dr. Ahmad Fahrul Muchtar Affandi, M.Si., Senior Lecturer and also Head of the Office of Communication, Information, and Public Services Vidi Sukmayadi, Ph.D. from UPI. Representatives from partner institutions included Sir Richard John Encarnacion, Dr. Vanessah Castillo, and Heidi Gonzales from BatStateU, alongside Dina Septiani, Pd.D. from UNAIR.
Journo Eskwela 2.0 brings together 72 student delegates and 16 faculty mentors across the four universities to engage in structured capacity-building workshops and cross-border editorial production. The program is structured into five core sessions covering news writing, data-driven journalism, AI in media, and visual storytelling, culminating in a joint final showcase.
Within the collaborative framework, UPI is specifically paired with BatStateU - Lipa Campus to co-host Session II, focusing on Journalism Fundamentals: News Writing & Feature Writing. Through this module, UPI faculty members and student delegates will facilitate discussion sessions and share best practices in crafting impactful narrative journalism.
Beyond skill development, the program fosters intercultural reflection and ethical media practices by challenging student teams to produce a collaborative online publication. By merging diverse perspectives from Indonesia, the Philippines, and India, Journo Eskwela 2.0 aims to cultivate global media literacy, public transparency, and sustainable cross-institutional academic networks.