Official Logo of IISMA. Source: Instagram, @kampusmerdeka.ri

Semarang – Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) or the Indonesian Student International Mobility Scholarship is one of the programs for undergraduate students of universities in Indonesia to participate in a series of learning abroad. The program initiated by the Directorate General of Learning and Student Affairs (Belmawa) is expected to support the Indonesian students to increase their knowledge and competence in the wider world according to their interests.

This part of the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka program runs for one semester in accordance with Ministerial Decree No. 74/P/2021 with a guarantee of a recognition of a maximum of 20 credits. The activity takes place at international partner universities and is carried out by taking three to four courses to be able to study with other foreign students in the same class.

Having many benefits, such as tuition fees, allowances (living costs, insurance), visas, and airline tickets, makes the IISMA selection even more stringent, as evidenced by the necessary conditions, consisting of English language skills (IELTS, TOEFL iBT, TOEFL ITP, Duolingo Test), a letter of recommendation from the university of origin, and a minimum GPA of 3.0 with an attachment of transcript.

An amazing opportunity to be able to study at international universities commensurate with the benefits provided, Latissya Eririan Kloer, Communication Science students year 2019, tells how IISMA has become a great opportunity for her self-development.

“My main goal is to see this (IISMA program) as an opportunity. As an opportunity for me to add experience. Since this program is funded by the government for various purposes, I see this as an opportunity to develop myself as well,” explained Latissya.

Still related to the benefits of IISMA which really attracted attention, Shafa Amira Rezkananda, Communication Science students year 2018, explained that this program has a good impact, including experiences that cannot be obtained at universities in Indonesia.

“I joined the IISMA program because I was an International Undergraduate Program (IUP) student and was required to exchange. So, at that time I thought, why not just give it a try. Besides that, I think it would be fun to join an exchange program to another country with friends from other universities throughout Indonesia so that I can get a lot of new acquaintances,” said Shafa.

Shafa feels that she needs to learn a lot in the opportunity that she has received, namely as part of IISMA 2021 by envisioning learning at an international university that prioritizes group discussion so that students are required to be active. She is very enthusiastic about this student exchange program because she is convinced that she will receive many benefits in the future.

“I initially chose Maastricht University because according to information, the way of studying there uses Problem Based Learning that prioritizes discussion in small groups which requires students to be active. However, the quota from Maastricht University itself was small, so I was transferred to the University of Pecs in Hungary. I am still very enthusiastic about joining this program because the University of Pecs is one of the oldest universities in Hungary,” said Shafa.

Both have a desire for a different learning model from the original university and want to explore more skills, Latissya feels that preparation during the IISMA selection process is the most important part. There are many components that need to be considered, including self-preparation in each selection series.

“More or less, what is need to be prepared is a transcript with a minimum GPA of 3.0, an English proficiency test certificate, and a campus recommendation letter. When we registered, we were asked to fill in an essay question. After submitting, there is a gap of about a week, there are 2,567 participants who register. Those who pass will be given an interview schedule that lasts three days. The interview itself is about a maximum of 15 minutes, full in English, ” explained Latissya.

After being declared as a candidate for IISMA 2021, Latissya hopes to take this opportunity to find out how Europeans interact. She also wanted to understand more about the preparation to gain experience related to European countries. Not only that, Latissya hopes to invite friends or juniors to prepare for the next IISMA period by sharing the knowledge that she has gained during one semester.

“At KU Leuven, I am the one who on the 2019 batch, the others are 2018. I see they are all more experienced when it comes to Europe. Not experienced, but more knowledgeable. I also hope that I can invite other friends or juniors that this program is worth it. I am also happy to share the knowledge that I learned there with other people, ” concluded Latissya

Writer: Kartika Conny Brilliant Dwikananda

Reporter: Febronia Jessica Inez I. / Almira Khairunnisa S.