Yogyakarta State University (YSU) accepts 89 international students from 21 countries in this new academic year of 2013/2014. The official welcome ceremony took place in the Main Courtroom of YSU Rectorate Building on Monday (9/30).

Rector of YSU, Prof. Dr. Rochmat Wahab, showed his appreciation for the coming of the international students. He said that, on the move to be a world class university, YSU is preparing itself by actively holding continuous development programs through internationalizing the university. Among the programs for the international students are student exchange, credit transfer, study visit, joint research, and short course.  

Meanwhile, the Head of the Office of International Affairs and Partnerships of YSU, Dr. –Ing. Satoto E. Nayono, stated that the increasing number and interest of international students joining the programs at YSU indicated the success of the University’s internationalization Therefore, YSU will keep actively promote its programs and cooperate with more international institutions. The Indonesian government also supports the international students to study in Indonesia by providing scholarships, such as Dharmasiswa and Developing Countries Partnership Program.

The international students who study at YSU have a chance to learn Bahasa Indonesia on the classroom basis namely BIPA program (Bahasa Indonesia program for speakers of other languages). They can also experience the rich cultures of Indonesia through cultural workshops such as art (traditional dances, batik, gamelan, and traditional music), martial art (pencak silat), massage, and culinary workshops as well as homestay programs in villages around Yogyakarta.

The 89 international students come from Australia, Burundi, People’s Republic of China, Chile, Hungary, Iraq, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Laos, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mexico, Myanmar, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Thailand and Ukraine. They are the students of Indonesian Darmasiswa programs, scholarships of developing countries partnership programs, credits transfer from Yunnan University of Nationalities and Guang Dong University of Foreign Studies, regular study programs, and Bahasa Indonesia course. This year, there are fifteen students enrolling for the regular study programs, but because of the language barrier, only five students are accepted to study in this university. (tw)