The Student Executive Board (BEM KM) Family together with the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta Office of Student and Alumni Development (LPKA UMY) held a scholarship talk show alongside the Indonesia – Taiwan Student Association, on Saturday (04/01) in the E7 amphitheater room.
Taiwan is one of the countries in East Asia that is starting to become a favored destination in the field of education by Indonesian students ranging from undergraduate (S1), Masters (S2), and doctoral studies (S3). One aspect that attracts Indonesian students to study in Taiwan is the cost of living, which is arguably quite high for scholarship recipients. In addition, the city is environmentally friendly, has adequate public transportation, and allows students to work part-time jobs.
Damas Bariek, an alumnus of the UMY Faculty of Law and a student at National Taiwan University (NTU), explained that there are various kinds of scholarships that are offered, ranging from ministry scholarships, university scholarships, corporate and institutional scholarships, as well as lab project scholarships. “For those who are studying engineering, if you have already received a ministry scholarship, you can also get a lab project scholarship. This scholarship is only given to engineering study program students because this scholarship is given directly by a professor, in exchange for your assistance in his research or experiments in the laboratory,” Damas explained.
In addition to explaining scholarships, Damas also gave some tips and tricks so that our scholarship documents were approved by the scholarship organizer and what documents we had to prepare. According to him, being accepted at universities in Taiwan tends to be easier compared to other East Asian countries, but preparing the scholarship documents, VISA, and residence permits are more difficult. From the six main documents needed, Damas underlined the recommendation letter from the professors and lecturers, because the contents of this recommendation letter are important for them to see our achievements in the academic field.
“Apart from the many scholarships available in Indonesia and the money offered, studying in a new or foreign place can be a struggle for us. We are forced to survive in a foreign environment, with different cultures and different languages. So you must ask yourself: is it possible to go through even more difficult struggles? Don’t just dream, because dreams without realization are only hallucinations, don’t be left behind by our dreams if we don’t act on them immediately, “Damas concluded.
The event was hosted by Puthut Ardianto, S.Pd, M.Od as the head of the LPKA UMY Career Development Center (CDC)
