A UNIVERSITY in the North-East is one of 13 in the country who have united to help rebuild the academic strengths of two Indonesian universities devastated by the tsunami.

The universities lost almost one in ten of their staff and students, and suffered major damage to their infrastructure: five months on they are still without direct communication links following the Boxing Day disaster in south-east Asia.

Newcastle University is part of The British Universities' Scholarship Scheme for Higher Education Institutions in Aceh, Indonesia.

It will help the Institut Agama Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry (IAIN) and Universitas Syiah Kuala (UNSYIAH) in Banda Aceh strengthen the research and teaching skills of their junior academic staff to help fill the gaps.

As part of the agreement, each institution in the consortium will waive fees and cover living costs for one full Masters scholarship per year for the next four academic years, giving approximately 52 scholarships over the lifetime of the scheme.

IAIN and UNSYIAH will nominate candidates for the scholarships, who will then be selected by the UK institutions based on their normal admission criteria.

Professor Christopher Edwards, vice-chancellor of Newcastle University, said: "It is important to remember that, even with the unprecedented public response to the disaster, it will be many years before the affected areas can fully recover.

"It is very gratifying to see the UK's higher education community working together on such a positive project, and I hope that, in some small way, this scheme and our contribution to it will go towards helping the Indonesian people begin to rebuild their future."