Surakarta, 14 February, 2026 – Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) continues to strengthen its commitment to building impactful international collaborations for society. The Director of the Directorate of Reputation, Partnership, and International Affairs (DRKUI) of UMS, Nurgiyatna, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D., stated in his remarks that UMS warmly welcomes this international partnership as a strategic step in advancing innovation through research and community engagement.
“At DRKUI, we highly appreciate this international collaboration as part of UMS’s effort to expand its global network. We hope that our partnership with The University of Queensland will not stop at this program, but will continue to grow into various forms of sustainable academic and research collaborations,” he said.
The UMS team has successfully secured the Australia Indonesia Institute Grant 2025 to develop an empowerment program for persons with disabilities through rehabilitation, physical activity, and sports. Through this grant, the team aims to adopt the ParaSTART disability empowerment program developed by The University of Queensland, Australia.
The program focuses on individuals with disabilities who require high levels of support (high need support), aiming to encourage their active participation in sports through structured rehabilitation and training approaches.
Grant recipient and Head of the Physiotherapist Professional Study Program at UMS, Suryo Saputra Perdana, M.Sc., PT., explained that the program is not solely oriented toward physical activity, but also toward improving participants’ health quality and overall readiness.
“Our hope is that they can actively participate in sports. We first improve their health, conduct rehabilitation, prepare them properly, and then select suitable sports disciplines. In this way, persons with disabilities are not merely passive participants but can actively engage. If they show talent and achievement, we can further prepare them for the Paralympic Games,” he explained.
The UMS team involved in this initiative represents a cross-disciplinary collaboration between the Physiotherapy and Physical Education Study Programs, in partnership with RS Ortopedi Prof. Dr. R. Soeharso as the affiliated hospital. The ParaSTART program will be adapted to Indonesia’s social and cultural context.
“We plan to adapt the program to Indonesia by considering the existing socio-cultural context,” he added.
During a visit to the Rectorate Meeting Room on Saturday (February 14), the developer of the ParaSTART program from Australia, Prof. Sean Michael Tweedy, expressed optimism about expanding collaboration, particularly with several research centers at UMS. The visit also included a multisectoral and multidisciplinary focus group discussion attended by representatives from the UMS Center for Disability Studies, the Center for Chronic Disease Studies, and lecturers from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, and Faculty of Sports Education.
Previously, UMS had explored collaboration opportunities with The University of Queensland through a visit last September to directly observe the implementation of ParaSTART. The visit formed part of a broader initiative to map institutional potential, facilities, and expert resources at UMS.
Through this grant and collaboration, UMS reaffirms its commitment to promoting inclusive, research-based empowerment programs and strengthening international partnerships to create sustainable impact for persons with disabilities in Indonesia.
