Depok, April 20th 2023. Universitas Indonesia (UI) is still the university that places the most students as participants in the 2023 Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program, namely 295 students. Of this number, 253 were undergraduate students and 42 were vocational students. They will be sent to various partner universities from several countries, such as England, the United States, Australia, Italy, South Korea, Singapore and many other countries.
IISMA is one of the student exchange scholarship programs from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbutsitek) with more than 1,860 student applicants from 117 universities and Vocational Education programs throughout Indonesia. This scholarship allows students in the fifth or seventh semester to study at overseas universities, understand academic diversity, and get to know international culture.
Selected students can convert their study experience into 20 Semester Credit Units (SKS) in 110 universities from 26 countries that are in the Top 100 – 300 QS World University Ranking. Students will also be facilitated with registration and education costs, health insurance, housing and living allowances, plane tickets and visas, as well as emergency funds.
Head of the UI Center for Independent Learning (CIL), Fransiskus Astha Ekadiyanto, S.T., M.Sc., explained that UI sent 945 undergraduate students and 98 vocational students to compete in the IISMA 2023 selection process. The selection stages that students must go through include filling in their personal data, sending English test files, writing recommendation letters and academic transcripts, and completing essays.
In collaboration with the Directorate of Student Affairs (Dirmawa) and the International Office (KUI), CIL helps students to collect data and prepare during the IISMA selection process. The facilities provided include consultation sessions related to choosing a university, making recommendation letters, verifying student scholarships, subsidizing English language test fees, as well as student debriefing and the process of converting credits in study programs.
“We at CIL always coordinate with Dirmawa and KUI to ensure that students carry out the IISMA registration process using the agreed system up to the last moment,” said Astha.
Of all the stages carried out, it was recorded that the Faculty of Humanities was the faculty with the most student applicants (17%), followed by the Faculty of Economics and Business (13%), the Faculty of Law (13%), and the Faculty of Engineering (11%). More than 60% of student applicants passed the interview stage.
Astha expressed his pride in the competitive spirit of students in the IISMA program. He hoped that IISMA awardee students can take part in other activities besides studying so that they not only have the experience of studying abroad, but can also interact with the local community.
“By presenting and popularizing Indonesian culture to local communities, students gain experience and relationships globally. This also affects UI’s reputation and ranking at the international level. Apart from that, with many of our students studying abroad, Indonesia will become increasingly known in the global world,” said Astha.
