Depok-Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) is a student exchange program held by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology for Indonesian students in fifth and seventh semesters to have the opportunity to study at selected foreign universities for one semester. This opportunity was successfully obtained by three students from the Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI), namely Arini Valentine (Insurance and Actuarial Administration study program), Cindy Khairunnisa (Tax Administration study program), and Laura Aurelia Tedjakusumana (Tourism Business Management study program) in the selection IISMA 2023 for Vocational Path. They succeeded in gaining experience studying Finance and Tourism at Coventry University, England. While at Coventry University, they were supervised by Prof. Benny Tjahjono, Sustainability and Supply Chain Management expert, from the Research Center for Business in Society and also the person in charge of the IISMA program in Coventry.
For approximately three months, Arini, Cindy, and Laura have been attending lectures at Coventry University. One of the striking differences between Coventry University and the Universitas Indonesia is the learning system. Coventry University applies a Seminar and Lecture learning system, while UI uses the usual teaching and learning system. Seminars are learning with a two-way concept, namely discussions between lecturers and students, as well as presentations and debates regarding the material being taught. Meanwhile, Lecture applies one-way learning, namely the lecturer explains the material that week. So, in one week there are two meetings for one course. This is different from UI, where there is only one meeting per week for one course which includes a two-way discussion and one-way explanation of the material to students. Arini said, “Learning twice a week has made me diligent in reading and studying journals because every week there is a presentation session. This system helps me to deepen and hone my critical thinking on material.”
(Photo: Lecture atmosphere held by Arini, Cindy, and Laura at Coventry University)
Unlike Arini and Cindy, Laura, who has a different major from them, also received benefits while studying at Coventry University. Through the Global Leadership class, Laura learned about the characteristics of a leader and members in bringing a team to success. “I have come to understand better that a good leader is one who can utilize each member’s skills effectively and efficiently, and help them achieve success together. This class helps me to hone my leadership skills and implement them in the tourism industry, one of which is as a tour leader,” said Laura.
Director of the UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, expressed his pride in the three UI Vocational students. According to him, the experience of studying abroad will add a new color to the their academic journey. “I hope that Arini, Cindy, and Laura’s experiences can inspire other UI Vocational students who want to follow in their footsteps in networking on an international scale,” said Padang.
Apart from the IISMA program, the UI Vocational Education Program also has a platform for students who want to be involved in international mobility, namely through the Credit Earning Program and joint degree program at the International Management Institute (IMI) Switzerland, international internship through CX Insight, and summer courses at Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU).
