“I felt this was my last chance, so I immediately applied.”
Muhammad Najib (24) still remembers why he applied for the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program in 2023. Studying abroad has been Najib’s dream since graduating from vocational school.
At that time, Najib participated in the selection process for the Global Korean Scholarship (GKS) offered by the National Institute for International Education (NIIED) in South Korea.
Unfortunately, luck was not on his side, and Najib had to withdraw after the interview stage to continue his studies in Indonesia.
In his second year as an Instrumentation and Control Engineering Technology student at the UGM Vocational College (SV UGM), Najib continued his dream of studying abroad.
Armed with a portfolio and experience he had gathered at UGM, Najib decided to apply for the IISMA program, one of the overseas study scholarships offered by the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) initiative.
Given his field of study, Najib chose the Deggendorf Institute of Technology in Germany as his destination campus.
Najib is one of many ambitious Indonesian students who want to study abroad. It’s no wonder that many of the world’s leading universities are in developed countries.
With enthusiasm for bringing change to Indonesia, these students are eager to gain as much knowledge as possible abroad and then return to apply what they’ve learned in Indonesia.
However, studying abroad often comes with significant costs.
The Ministry of Education, through the MBKM initiative, has established flagship programs to help Indonesian students achieve their dreams of studying abroad without financial barriers.
The Indonesian International Student Mobility Award (IISMA) program allows Indonesian students to participate in a semester-long exchange at prestigious universities worldwide.
IISMA is one of the seven flagship MBKM programs launched by the Minister of Education, Nadiem Makarim. The target universities for IISMA are spread across the globe, including Singapore, France, Australia, and the United States.
The IISMA program covers all aspects of the exchange, from preparation, transportation, and accommodation to a monthly stipend.
As of 2023, the number of IISMA scholarship recipients has reached 6,522 students from both undergraduate and diploma levels.
IISMA offers five schemes: regular, affirmative (for KIP-K scholarship holders from 3T regions), co-funding, vocation (IISMAVO), and entrepreneurship (IISMA-E). These schemes ensure that all students have equal opportunities to study abroad.
Building a Bridge of Knowledge on Another Continent
Studying in a new, distant, unfamiliar place isn’t just about moving from one location to another. Students must adapt to the curriculum and learning culture of the host country. Additionally, they often explore fields of study outside their original disciplines.
As an Instrumentation and Control Engineering Technology student, Najib has always been interested in computer science, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Unfortunately, these fields were underexplored in his department in Indonesia.
Therefore, he took advantage of his study opportunity in Germany to delve into computer science.
Learning something new in a foreign country is not without its challenges.
“It might not be my basic expertise, so when I first studied it in Germany, I found it difficult to follow,” Najib admitted.
Moreover, Najib had to adapt to the academic system in Germany, which differs from that in Indonesia. In Germany, grades for each course are only assessed at the end of the semester.
This can be advantageous since student attendance isn’t part of the assessment criteria.
However, besides academics, Najib, the IISMA student representative (SR) in Germany, had to participate in various events outside his educational activities. Fortunately, he managed to handle everything well.
“Thank God, my grades are safe!” Najib said.
Rachel Adeline Wiguna, a 2021 Psychology student at UGM who received the IISMA scholarship in 2023 at the University of Adelaide, Australia, had a similar experience.
Rachel noted that the learning system in Australia differs significantly from that in Indonesia. There, each course consists of three types of classes: lectures, workshops, and tutorials. Each class type has a different implementation mechanism.
Workshops and tutorials have fewer students than general lectures, with a maximum of 20 students per class.
The flexible academic system allows students to have different schedules each week.
“There’s a lecture on Tuesday, and there might be another one on Thursday. They repeat the material on Tuesday to accommodate all students, so everyone gets the material,” Rachel explained.
Lecturers also play a significant role in each student’s learning process. One of the advantages of studying in Australia is the openness of lecturers to personal discussion sessions and the ease of contacting them.
“If I was confused about something, I asked the lecturer, and they were willing to help,” Rachel said.
The difference in academic culture is also felt in the context of social relationships, especially friendships among students.
As exchange students, Najib and Rachel naturally wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to expand their networks with students at the local campuses. However, the way of socializing in Indonesia cannot always be applied when interacting with students abroad.
The habit of small talk or “beating around the bush” with strangers is not well-suited in Australia. Rachel acknowledged that chatting after class is not a common practice in Adelaide. There, students return to their dorms or head to their next destination without stopping to chat with friends.
“It wasn’t just in class; when I joined the orchestra club there, after practice, they just left,” Rachel recounted.
For Rachel, making friends with local students requires extra effort. However, she doesn’t interpret this as exchange students being unable to socialize with local students.
“Maybe their culture is more to the point. They only discuss what’s necessary,” Rachel said.
Najib had a different experience while studying in Germany. He admitted being shy and felt he hadn’t fully utilized the experience of meeting international students.
He believes he could have expanded his network by befriending more students. Nevertheless, Najib still found peers who shared similar interests.
“Regarding the friendship experience there, I liked the culture,” Najib recalled.
While studying in Germany, Najib took advantage of his time by joining the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Deggendorf, an international student association.
He connected with fellow international students through this organization by participating in various activities. Najib also joined the Host Family program and gained foster parents.
Seeing the World Through IISMA
It’s been a year since Najib first set foot in Deggendorf, a city on the edge of Germany, far from the hustle and bustle of the capital. For him, Germany left such an impression that he wanted to return for his master’s studies.
As a student enrolled in the Kartu Indonesia Pintar-Kuliah (KIP-K) scholarship program, participating in IISMA was a life-changing experience.
“I’m confident I can manage my money well. My financial situation has improved,” Najib said.
His journey in Deggendorf made Najib realize he was just one small fragment in this vast world. While studying in Germany, Najib met remarkable Indonesians and shared inspiring stories with them. He also exchanged stories with friends who had already started working in Germany.
“From there, I wanted to be meaningful and help others with the knowledge I’ve gained,” Najib said.
The international experience Rachel gained through IISMA also led her to exchange ideas with other international students.
“One of the most significant benefits is the cultural exchange,” Rachel said. Through IISMA, Rachel discussed social issues in each country and explored potential solutions through classroom discussions.
The difference in dynamics between lecturers and students was also one of Rachel’s most memorable experiences while studying at the University of Adelaide. There, lecturers highly valued students’ efforts in completing assignments.
Unlike her experience at UGM, Rachel received feedback from lecturers, allowing her to understand her strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement in future assignments.
Every step of Najib and Rachel’s journey has shaped them into resilient and open-minded individuals. Through IISMA, they dared to step out of their comfort zones and discover their true selves, paving the way for their future paths.
Author: Tiefany Ruwaida Nasukha/BPPM Balairung UGM
Editor: Gusti Grehenson