VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim, launched the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program with the objective of facilitating Indonesian students to spend a semester studying overseas.

"Through the IISMA program, Indonesian students will be able to follow their dreams to participate in courses in leading universities, develop their cross-cultural abilities, strengthen global networking, and prepare themselves for the current world of work," Minister Makarim remarked during the launch of IISMA from Jakarta on Tuesday.

Makarim thereafter lauded the chancellors of national universities that had forged cooperation with institutions overseas, where the total number of foreign universities under the scheme reached 73 institutions from 31 countries.

"As you may know, I have had the experience of being a university student in Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom. I pursued my dreams in three distinctive environments that have in turn shaped my intellect and character," he remarked.

The minister expressed belief that higher education offers a platform for students to broaden their thinking and chase their dreams, to which end the ministry aims to facilitate Indonesian students.

Makarim affirmed that classroom learning experiences fail to empower students with the skillsets required at the workplace, thereby eventually presenting challenges to them to face the dynamics at the workplace.

"We would like to change that by bringing about transformations that make universities more relevant to the world outside campuses. Students can have the flexibility with the application of best practices in the humanitarian organization industry through the 'Kampus Merdeka' program," he remarked.

The minister further called for continually expanding collaboration-based initiatives to realize the vision of a liberating education, not only at the national scale but also globally.

Meanwhile, Director General of Higher Education from the Ministry, Nizam, remarked that the scholarship program is being implemented in cooperation with the Finance Ministry's Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) Program.

"This is an effort to accelerate the progress of students and to strengthen them by enabling them to study overseas in world-renowned campuses, so that they can avail extraordinary learning and have the opportunity to build their confidence and conduct global networking," he explained. (Antaranews)