Depok-Laily Nazwa Muslim, student of the Public Relations study program, Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI), has just completed her studies at Lancaster University, England, through the 2023 Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) RI. The IISMA program she participated in lasted for approximately five months from August to December 2023. Laily is a student representative for the IISMA awardee at Lancaster University.
The university, which is located in North West England, is known as a home for foreign students from more than 120 countries. Currently, Lancaster University is ranked 122nd in the QS World Rankings 2024 (previously ranked 146th in 2023). This became one of the incentives for Laily to study in that country. Laily studied Community Engagement, which is very linear with her education, namely in the field of communication science. On this occasion, Laily took part in three main programs at once, namely the International Cultural Experience (ICE) Program; Study Start Program (SSP); and Michaelmas Term.
The ICE Program or what is known as Lancaster University’s Global Summer School program provides a platform for foreign students to meet and study social, cultural and political issues in the UK. Laily also had the opportunity to take part in an industrial visit to the Dukes Theater and Lancaster City Museum. Meanwhile, SSP is an introduction program to various facilities, learning systems, and courses to be taken at Lancaster University. Meanwhile, Michaelmas Term is a two-month learning program for students at Lancaster University. In this program, Laily enrolled in several modules, namely 1) Management and Organization in Context; 2) The Language of Advertising; 3) Transformations: From Mass Media to Social Media; and 4) Understanding Culture.
(Photo: Laily during a project presentation at Lancaster University)
Laily said that she took the various modules to deepen her communication knowledge and broaden her horizons as a Public Relations study program student. The learning system at Lancaster University is divided into two, namely Lecture (one-way communication by lecturers to students) and Seminar/Workshop (two-way communication between lecturers and students, and provides opportunities for students to argue based on the topics discussed). “The experience of studying at Lancaster University has convinced me to become a practitioner in the field of public relations after graduating from UI Vocational. The learning system using Mandatory Readings or reading academic books, journals and scientific articles before the Seminar/Workshop begins gave me an interesting impression that I didn’t get before in Indonesia,” explained Laily.
One of her memorable experiences was during an industrial visit to the Dukes Theatre. Laily had the opportunity to interview Deputy Visitor Services Manager for Dukes Theatre, Simon Nixon, about the impact the programs the theater has had on people, particularly Lancaster residents.
While in England, Laily was also active as a volunteer in programs at the Lancaster Islamic Society and the Lancaster Latin America Society. Another memorable experience for Laily while participating in the IISMA program was overcoming the English (British-English) accent barrier. According to her, the accents of each region in England are different. So, multicultural competence is very necessary to overcome this. Not only accents, how to interact and communicate with foreigners is also a lesson for him.
(Photo: The atmosphere of teaching and learning activities at Lancaster University)
Director of the UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, said that the experience of studying at the Top 10 campus in England could provide a positive impression for Laily. He hopes that all the lessons he receives can be applied in Indonesia, both hard skills and soft skills. “I am sure that Laily can absorb the various knowledge he gained while studying at Lancaster University and become a provision for her before entering industry after graduating from UI Vocational and later competing at the international level,” said Padang.
