IISMA: The Indonesia Connecting Bridge in Strengthening International Peace Between Countries

"Find your own path to become a future global leader" -Dr. Rachmat Sriwijaya, Chair of IISMA Program

In 2023, the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards, or known as IISMA, became the flagship program for the Merdeka Learning Campus which attracted the interest of many students. How could it not, IISMA is one of the scholarships organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) of the Republic of Indonesia which offers a mobility program for 1 (one) semester at the best universities abroad for free. Due to the benefits offered, 7,664 undergraduate students and 1,452 vocational students enrolled in the IISMA Program.

The IISMA program was formed with several objectives, including: students can study various disciplines according to their interests and can even choose courses that are not linear with the study program at their home university, students can hone their skills so they can support their competency interests, build international-scale connections through various activities at the host university, and students also gain cross-cultural understanding so as to increase cultural tolerance both in Indonesia and in the host country.

The IISMA program can also strengthen international peace between countries. In addition to taking lectures in an international atmosphere, the selected student delegations from this program also have another mission, which is to introduce Indonesia to international eyes. According to the experience of previous IISMA program scholarship recipients, the awardees carried out many activities to introduce Indonesia and adapt to the destination country. The availability of many opportunities to join skills clubs and volunteer makes IISMA awardees able to adapt to foreign students and the local community.

Apart from club and volunteer activities, there are interesting activities that are generally carried out by IISMA awardees, namely cultural nights. This event aims to introduce Indonesian cultures to the international community, especially at destination universities. 

Many were exhibited by the IISMA awardees, ranging from traditional clothing, traditional dances, traditional games, and traditional food. The aim of this cultural night event is none other than to create an environment where people respect each other and uphold the value of cultural tolerance.

This is something important, considering the many cases of cultural intolerance that can disrupt peace. With the presence of this cultural night, even though it started as a small action, at least it can bring about a change in cultural tolerance, especially in the international sphere, namely between countries where the IISMA awardees study for one semester. Therefore, the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) can be referred to as the Indonesia Connecting Bridge in Strengthening International Peace Between Countries.