Source: instagram.com/iisma_ri

Four Diponegoro University Communication Science students passed the Merdeka Campus student exchange program, Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) 2022. They are Dzikri Aditya Ihatra, Athar Raihan Muhammad, Aiko Nisa Safitri, and Rosanna Fadiya. Three of them are from the 2020 batch, while Rosanna Fadiya is the only one from the 2019 batch.

Regarding this matter, Athar Raihan Muhammad or who is often called Athar shared his travel experiences up to the point of graduating from Radboud University, the Netherlands. Athar said that for the first time he knew about the IISMA program from the head of the study program or study program head. Athar also said that IISMA challenged him to learn various sciences. His motivation for joining the IISMA program is to expand the network.

“(His motivation is to) expand the network and challenge himself to learn multidisciplinary science,” said Athar.

Slightly different from Athar, another student who also passed the 2022 IISMA, Aiko Nisa Safitri or who is familiarly called Aiko, explained that her motivation for joining IISMA was to increase her value and look for a fully-funded exchange student program.

“I want to increase my self-worth and through this IISMA I believe that I will get a lot of lessons and experiences. Apart from that, I have always been interested in the exchange program, because I will meet many new people from different backgrounds so I can see new perspectives and learn their culture too,” said Aiko.

In addition to these reasons, Aiko who passed Lancaster University, England also explained that another reason was that because she was from the International Undergraduate Program (IUP), there was an obligation to conduct a student exchange program. IISMA also provides an opportunity for Aiko to fulfill this obligation.

“Because I am an IUP, there is an exchange obligation and I chose to exchange through the IISMA program because I want to ease the burden on my parents too because the IISMA program can be said to be fully funded,” Aiko added further.

The preparation process carried out by the four of them consisted of pre-registration preparation, namely practice for the TOEFL/IELTS test, then preparation for writing essays, and finally the preparation of answers and mental preparation for interview selection.

Regarding essay writing, Aiko has her way of compiling it. He said that he studied the essay of a senior who had previously passed IISMA and asked other people’s opinions about his essay.

“I saw an example of an awardee’s essay last year and an essay that passed to a world-renowned university, like Harvard University, after that I analyzed the flow of the essay and applied it to my essay. In addition, ask other people who have experience in writing essays. After the essay is finished, I also ask people to proofread it,” explained Aiko.

To get to the point of qualifying, Athar and Aiko cannot be separated from obstacles during the registration and selection process. Aiko said that the problem was the schedule for collecting registration files and essays that clashed with the UTS schedule, so according Aiko, she had to be wise in managing time.

Athar himself said there were problems with the registration process. These constraints are related to the filing process that lacks information and direction.

“During the registration and testing, what was quite difficult was the filing and administration process. This is relevant for both campus and non-campus stages (IISMA directives). This difficulty includes information that is not clear and complete (especially in the scope of the timeline direction for file creation) and also requests for non-campus files (SKBN, et al) which are not parameterized,” said Athar.

Even though there were obstacles, they both said that the study program was very helpful in the double consultation process for the courses to be taken and other study plans. The study program also assists in the process of managing documents that require a study program/KUI signature.

Athar and Aiko informed me of their different departure schedules to each university. For Radboud University itself, Athar said that he estimates that he will depart around August-September 2022. Meanwhile, Aiko will leave for Lancaster University in early October 2022.

Finally, Athar and Aiko gave tips for those who also want to become awardees or pass into the next year’s IISMA program. From Aiko herself, she emphasized tips on pre-preparation, essay writing, and interviews which were the keys to her success.

“As a first step, prepare for IELTS and maintain a GPA because it is an initial requirement. For essays, the ‘how’ is more important than the ‘what’. And for interviews, often practice interviews like mock-up interviews, either alone or together with someone else” said Aiko further.

Meanwhile, Athar said that commitment and consistency were the keys to qualifying for the 2022 IISMA program.

“What is certain (the tips) is consistency and commitment to enjoy the process, because patience in dealing with problems is very necessary,” concluded Athar.

Author: Alivia Nuriyani Syiva

Editor: Lasting Irma Salugiasih

Reporter: Nur’aini Novita Sari & Risa Nurhaliza

Source : komunikasi.fisip.undip.ac.id