Universitas Padjadjaran has an International Undergraduate Program (IUP) which is an international class that aims to prepare and provide an opportunity for students who would like to study abroad. The courses in IUP are taught with learning methods that were designed to conform with international standards. Starting from 2024, Communication Science is one of many programs that can be chosen by IUP students who are interested in that major. The Communication Science study program in IUP has a partnership with universities in South Korea which means that the door is wide open for IUP students who want to study there.
Anindya Jasmine, a class of 2024 IUP student, shared her experiences as an international class student. Before she started college, Jasmine often heard from the people around her that international class students are definitely experts at speaking English. In reality, it’s true that adequate English skills are necessary to be able to conform with the way they teach the courses in IUP. Jasmine came from a high school that teaches lessons in English, so she’s already used to the situation. She also heard people saying that international class students tend to mix both Bahasa Indonesia and English in daily conversations. There’s some truth in that stereotype, but Jasmine always makes the effort to adjust the way she speaks according to the person she’s talking to. So far she enjoyed her time studying in IUP and the Faculty of Communication Science as a whole, especially because being in IUP doesn’t stop her from joining various committees so she’s able to meet new friends because of it.
Kezya Putri Adilah, a class of 2024 IUP student, also shared her experience studying in the IUP. Similar to Jasmine, Kezya also said that all activities in class are carried out in English, either when talking to teachers, friends, or presenting in front of class. So far, Kezya feels happy and enjoys the learning atmosphere in the IUP Communication Science class. Kezya heard that IUP students will continue their studies abroad after entering the 3rd year of college. Therefore, she feels that during her studies, IUP students are encouraged to be active and familiarise themselves with using English in class to improve their quality in order to be selected as students who will be dispatched abroad.
Muhammad Afzal Mahesa Putra, a class of 2024 IUP student also shared his experience in the IUP class. Afzal said that every lesson at IUP was conducted in English. This made him a bit nervous because he had never experienced a learning atmosphere entirely in English like in the IUP class. However, Afzal still feels comfortable studying at IUP because the explanations presented by the lecturers can be understood well.
As International Undergraduate Program (IUP) students, English is one of the skills that Kezya, Jasmine, and Afzal must be proficient in. Nevertheless, they enjoy the learning atmosphere at IUP and they don’t let anything stop them from developing and improving themselves. With that improvement, they’ll have a better chance at studying abroad. (Ed)