The recent enactment of decentraliz

The recent enactment of decentralization laws and regulations in Indonesia delegating administrative powers to local governments and giving them an increasingly central role in government functions at the local level has progressively emphasized the need for effective advanced planning capacity among actors and stakeholder in municipalities (kota) and districts (kabupaten). While paradigms in planning are themselves undergoing a discernible shift from technocratic towards pluralistic approaches and planning practice at the local level is currently under a vigorous learning process in which experiments and innovations are being implementes in many parts of the country, planning still offers an alternative solution for adaptation to changing environments. Thus planning education has an important role in helping local governments and communities increase their capacities to adapt to changing environments without losing sight of shared goals and objectives of development.
The Post Graduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta offers a variety of study programs in which local actors in development and planning may gain various knowledge and skills necessary to formulate and utilize plans as guidelines in local decision making. Students are expected to come from relevant educational and professional backgrounds, primarily actors in local development including local government officials, consultants, universities, and community organizations. Study programs include spatial planning, urban management, development management, and rural development, given in concurrent or detached course programs, either in domestic courses or sandwich courses eith international elements. The latter is a recent development in which exposure to international settings is expected to open up new and wider horizons for the students in searching better solutions to planning problems.