UNS — A total of 23 students from the Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta passed the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program selection, organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemdikbudristek). The selected students will participate in a one-semester program at global universities in different countries. Responding to this achievement, the Rector of UNS, Prof. Jamal Wiwoho, expressed his appreciation to the UNS students who passed the selection. “I am proud of the 23 UNS students who will be deployed to the best universities abroad. I hope you can use your time during the program to expand your knowledge,” said Prof. Jamal on Monday (6/6/2022).
A similar message was delivered by the UNS Vice-Rector for Planning, Partnership, Business, and Information, Prof. Sajidan, “You are representing UNS in a foreign country, please keep on your study and hard work to implement the program flawlessly. Other than learning new knowledge, you can also learn the culture and how the people in developed countries work, thus, you can advance the work culture at your home institution and for your personal development.”
The Head of International Office UNS, Rino Ardhian N., Ph.D., reveals a significant increase in the IISMA 2022 applicants. “This year, UNS successfully deployed more than 20 delegates to various universities and countries, such as the US, Chili, Europe, UK, Hungaria, and Asia. Congratulation to all selected students, I hope you can contribute to the UNS honor,” said Rino Ardhian N., Ph.D.
Besides the increase in the number of delegations, the applicants’ enthusiasm also increased significantly. On the 2021 IISMA, there were only 60 applicants, but this year there were more than 100 applicants from various faculties in UNS. However, the level of competition on the national stage must be harder since there will be more applicants from other universities. To ensure the quality of applicants, the UNS International Office UPT also conducted grade classification for the UNS applicants prior to their application submission to the ‘Kampus Merdeka’ website. “Grade A are those who fulfilled all requirements without language assistance, Grade B is for students who need language assistance from the Language UPT, and the rest fell to the Grade C,” he added.
Other than collaborating with the Technical Implementational Unit of Language (Language UPT) in foreign language training, the UNS International Office also held essay writing assistance. “We also reviewed the applicants’ university selection by considering their GPA, language proficiency, and selected university. Those with excellent language proficiency will be recommended to developed countries such as the US, UK, or other European countries, while those with limited English proficiency will be recommended to choose Asian or Latin American countries,” explained Rino.
Furthermore, Rino reveals that one of the challenges faced by students is language proficiency and university selection, which will significantly affect the decision. He hopes the 23 UNS delegations can study well and establish favorable networking with local residents and international students. “Thus, opening collaboration opportunities between host university and home university,” he concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti