Feature


Published: 28 Jun 2021

Kadek Astri Dwijayanti, International Relations Study Program

 

I Choose the University of Warsaw because I am Interested in Its History

 

Her full name is Kadek Astri Dwijayanti. But daily, she is usually called Astri. Astri is one of five President University (PresUniv) students who received scholarships through the 2021 Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program. IISMA is one of eight Merdeka Campus programs initiated by the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Nadiem Makarim.

Through the IISMA program, Minister Nadiem provides rights and opportunities for students to carry out self-development activities outside their original campus. In practice, this program is run by the Directorate General of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.

Astri is a student of the International Relations Study Program, PresUniv, batch 2019. In this program, she has the opportunity to join the lecture activities for one semester at the University of Warsaw, Poland. This university is the best university in Poland. Referring to the ranking issued by the QS World University Rankings in 2021, the University of Warsaw is ranked 308th as the global university.

The IISMA 2021 program opened in early May 2021 and was attended by students from several universities in Indonesia. Astri shared her experience when she joined the selection process. She said many documents must be fulfilled in the registration. These include letters of recommendation from the dean at the faculty, transcripts of grades, and IELTS/TOEFL/Duolingo certificate with minimum scores determined by the destination university.

At this stage, Astri also chooses the university and courses she will take at the university of her choice. After passing the first stage of selection, she was then interviewed until finally she was declared qualified to receive the scholarship. Although many requirements and stages must be passed, Astri admits that it is not difficult because the International Office (IO) team, PresUniv, always accompanies her. "Until now, the IO team still helps me," she said.

At the University of Warsaw, Astri will take four courses: Doing Business Europe-Asia: Legal, Political and Economic Perspective, Security System in The Asia Pacific Region, European Union and Polish Diplomacy in Asia, and Introduction to Europe through Poland: Language, Culture and History. Astri revealed that she chose the University of Warsaw because Poland has an excellent education system and a strong history. "As a student of the International Relations Study Program, I am very excited about its history," she said. She expects to improve soft skills, learn foreign cultures, and strengthen networking during this program. (Silvia Desi Betrice, PR team. Photo: Kadek)