Dili, Timor-Leste — Dili, Timor-Leste — The Independent Accreditation Agency for Natural Sciences and Formal Sciences (LAMSAMA) officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Timor-Leste’s Agência Nacional para a Avaliação e Acreditação Académica, I.P. (ANAAA) as part of the 2025 Programmatic Accreditation activities held on 26 February 2025 at the Indonesian Cultural Center (PBI) in Dili. The signing was also witnessed by the Education and Cultural Attaché (Atdikbud) of the Republic of Indonesia for Timor-Leste as a form of support for educational collaboration between the two countries.

The cooperation initiative between the two institutions has been underway since late 2024 through several online and offline meetings. One of the key discussions took place on 17 December 2024 in Jakarta, where LAMSAMA and ANAAA presented their accreditation frameworks and identified areas of collaboration, which later led to the MoU signing in Dili.

(from left) Prof. Dr.-Ing. Drs. Ir. Mitra Djamal, IPU., ASEAN Eng., Dr. Nilton D. Paiva Mau, Prof. Drs. Roto, M. Eng., Ph.D., and Prof. Dr. Intan Detiana Muchtadi, S.Si., M.Si.

Initial cooperation meeting between LAMSAMA and ANAAA

The cooperation progressed to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between LAMSAMA and ANAAA in Timor-Leste. The LAMSAMA delegation was led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Drs. Ir. Mitra Djamal, IPU., ASEAN Eng., Director of the LAMSAMA Executive Board. Also present were Prof. Drs. Roto, M. Eng., Ph.D., Deputy Director of Accreditation at LAMSAMA, and Haerul Ahmadi, S.Si., M.Si., an accreditation staff member. The delegation was welcomed by officials from ANAAA, including its Executive Director, Dr. Nilton D. Paiva Mau.

MoU signing process between LAMSAMA and ANAAA

During the opening of the event, ANAAA President Dr. Azevedo Lourenço da Costa Marçal stated that this cooperation is a strategic step for Timor-Leste in strengthening external quality assurance in higher education, particularly in the fields of science, formal sciences, economics, and business. He emphasized that the MoU opens opportunities for knowledge exchange, enhancement of accreditation instruments, and capacity-building for assessors in Timor-Leste.

In the discussion session, Dr. Nilton Paiva outlined the current state of higher education in Timor-Leste. There are currently 19 higher education institutions and 149 study programs under ANAAA’s coordination. The establishment of new institutions and study programs follows a phased eligibility process, with ANAAA holding the final decision. After government approval, ANAAA conducts guidance and quality monitoring for three years, followed by periodic reaccreditation every five years. Based on the latest evaluation, only two universities have achieved an A/EXCELLENT rating, while the rest are still at B and C levels. He expressed hope that cooperation with LAMSAMA would strengthen quality assurance standards and capacity in Timor-Leste.

Pertemuan ini membahas berbagai peluang kolaborasi mulai dari pengembangan instrumen akreditasi, pendampingan teknis, peningkatan kompetensi asesor, penguatan sistem informasi mutu, hingga kesempatan bagi asesor ANAAA untuk menjadi pengamat dalam proses asesmen LAMSAMA di Indonesia.

The meeting discussed various collaboration opportunities ranging from accreditation instrument development, technical assistance, assessor competency improvement, strengthening quality information systems, to opportunities for ANAAA assessors to become observers in LAMSAMA assessment processes in Indonesia.

In his remarks, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Drs. Ir. Mitra Djamal, IPU., ASEAN Eng. stated that LAMSAMA welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with ANAAA. “This visit opens a very important space for collaboration between the two institutions. LAMSAMA is ready to share experiences, expertise, and best practices applied in Indonesia’s accreditation system. We believe that improving education quality is a shared agenda, and this cooperation will have a real impact on the development of higher education in Timor-Leste,” he said.

He added that LAMSAMA’s accreditation can serve as an important reference for graduates of higher education institutions in Timor-Leste, especially those wishing to continue studies in Indonesia.

The presence of the Education and Cultural Attaché of the Republic of Indonesia for Timor-Leste, Prof. Ikhfan Haris, also demonstrated support for this collaboration. The Attaché stated that the Indonesian government is ready to support efforts to improve education quality in Timor-Leste through various student exchange programs, training initiatives, and other academic collaborations. Indonesia’s participation in the event also reaffirms the commitment of both countries to strengthening bilateral relations in education.

Aside from the MoU signing, LAMSAMA also conducted a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the leadership of Universidade Oriental Timor Lorosa’e (UNITAL) at the UNITAL Rectorate in Dili. The discussion focused on explaining LAMSAMA’s accreditation procedures and exploring opportunities for UNITAL to develop study programs in science and formal sciences. Although UNITAL currently does not have dedicated programs in these fields, the university has lecturers with backgrounds in science and formal sciences who teach in physics and mathematics education programs—providing a foundation for establishing new study programs in the future.

LAMSAMA–UNITAL FGD

With the signing of the MoU, LAMSAMA and ANAAA hope that this cooperation will strengthen the quality assurance ecosystem in both countries, encourage standard harmonization, and open wider capacity development opportunities for higher education institutions in Timor-Leste.