UNS — Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) is one of the programs included in Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudritek), and has been open since 2021. The program offers the opportunity to study at leading colleges abroad for a semester.
When the IISMA program first opened, 22 students from Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta were successfully selected as a delegation in this program. One of them is a Faculty of Medicine (FK) UNS student, Medicine Education Study Program (Prodi), Anis Sofia Harjanti. Anis was selected for a semester program at the University of Edinburgh (UoE), Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. She becomes a visiting student at the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and the School of Health in Social Science.
Anis’s desire to be able to gain experience abroad, she admitted, has existed since 2020. She had tried her luck by participating in various kinds of activities at the international level. Although several times she had failed, departure cancelation and selection cancellation notice, all of that did not discourage Anis from trying.
“In 2021, I saw the IISMA program at MBKM. Afterward, I searched for more information and found out the program details. I need to admit that I was amazed that the opportunities provided through this program exceeded my expectations. I think IISMA is one whole package for all student exchange programs. Because of this, I cannot hold myself to not trying to register for IISMA,” said Anis, Tuesday (8/3/2022).
Anis revealed that after the IISMA program was launched, she immediately prepared the necessary application requirements. Anis acknowledged the difficulty due to the limited circulation of information in advance and the absence of detailed information from the previous batch. This situation happened because, at that time, Anis became the First Batch awardee of the IISMA program.
“So, I can only rely on IISMA official information channels. I have quite a few unnerving matters. Sometimes the information is disclosed suddenly and often changing,” Anis continued.
Anis’ Tips on Passing IISMA Selection
According to Anis, the first thing to be prepared for is to do extensive research about the IISMA program. Because this is the essential step to get to know more about IISMA, then prepare all requirements carefully to be an IISMA awardee. Give your best efforts and prepare more for every application you sign up for.
“Especially one that is quite difficult in the essay section. As much as possible, you need to know your personal purpose for participating in IISMA and then link it to the objective of IISMA itself. There must be a connection to why you are a suitable candidate for the IISMA program. In your essay, you can write down all of the real-life cases you’ve experienced, the challenges, and how you deal with them. Or write down how IISMA can support you in your post-university education competition. Basically, craft your essay well,” Anis explained.
Anis added that because there has been the first batch of IISMA awardees, you can learn from them (the previous IISMA awardee). Find a mentor or someone who can be your role model. Ask them about our community apps because their input is precious and can be helpful reflection material. Also, don’t forget to continue to hone your English skills, both spoken and written.
“For those who are still hesitant or afraid to register for IISMA, the key is to try first. Because in my opinion, if we don’t try, we’ll have a 0% chance of success. Whereas when we dare to try, we will have a 50% chance of success and a 50% chance of failure. And it is okay if, in the end, we get the chance to fail because failure will always be there. The point is, what important are the things that can be learned during the process, whether it works or not. I myself have experienced rejection. The plan I have made must be cancelled, or the plan is not going according to what I expected, and that is really fine. That lesson helped me prepare for something else better in the future. Do your best and let God do the rest,” Anis explained.
Meanwhile, during her one semester at the UoE, there are many things that Anis can learn. She learned a lot about applying a work-life balance, where students must work and study earnestly but can still enjoy life. Then there is the learning environment in the UoE that trains students to be independent. “Here, the system does not allow the material to be taught directly to students. Before each class session, the lecturer or teacher gives reading material, and then we discuss the material in the classroom. I think this is one way that students can keep up with their learning materials because studying is not just for exams but also for learning to understand. Examination at the UoE is also not limited to the reading material, or knowledge learned in class. Sometimes exams are carried out in the form of essays, and it teaches me how to consider some expert opinions I found,” Anis concluded.
Anis’s message to the future IISMA 2022 awardee, each future endeavor may not be as smooth as imagined. There must be a challenge to face. But you must be able to find a solution to the challenge. Because the IISMA awardee must be able to deal with it. Humas UNS
Reporter: Lina Khoirun Nisa
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
