The Communication Studies Study Program, Faculty of Communication Sciences, Padjadjaran University through the International Undergraduate Program (IUP) officially announced 30 students who were declared to have passed the Study Abroad 2026 Program to several well-known universities in South Korea. This program is part of the university’s commitment to expanding international academic networks and improving students’ global competencies through learning experiences at foreign partner universities.
Based on data from the IUP team, 30 recipients of the program, four students were selected as representatives to share their experiences related to the selection process, departure preparation, and their expectations after participating in the study abroad program. The four students were accepted into different universities, namely Sungkyunkwan University, Hanyang University, Myongji University, and Woosong University.
Guinevere, who is more familiarly called Jena, revealed his reason for choosing Sungkyunkwan University as his destination campus. According to her, Sungkyunkwan University offers courses that focus on the field of communication and media that suit his career interests in the future.
“The reason I chose Sungkyunkwan University over others is because of course it has become a well-known university there, it is the top 4 universities in South Korea, so it is certainly already famous as a prestigious university. After I did my research, one of the best universities for studying media and comms is Sungkyunkwan University,” said Jena, a student of IUP Ilkom Unpad who successfully passed study abroad to Sungkyunkwan University through the visiting student program.
Ismail, a student who participated in the visiting student program at Woosong University, explained that the selection process requires comprehensive preparation, starting from research on the destination university, the lecture system, and the academic environment in South Korea. Not only that, they also prepare the fulfillment of administrative documents such as TOEFL/IELTS, motivation letters, several other file completeness, and interview stages as part of internal selection. Not only preparation from an academic point of view, they also make mental preparations and also cultural adaptation.
After being declared to have passed the study abroad program to South Korea, Isyarah as the only IUP Ilkom Unpad student who managed to pass the student exchange program at Myongji University expressed her gratitude and happiness for this achievement.
“My feeling must be very happy and excited because I can finally experience studying abroad in one of my dream countries, even though Myongji was my second choice during the internal selection, but I am still grateful because it became a Student Exchange program and not a Visiting. Because later there I will also be alone, of course there is a feeling of fear a little but excited to learn new things there,” said Isyarah. Overall, they show enthusiasm and optimism to embark on a new experience in an international academic environment.
Other things that they are preparing for the departure process include the management of various administrative documents such as passports, visas, and supporting files required by each destination university. In addition, they also began to prepare non-administrative needs such as finding a place to live, arranging living cost planning, and preparing additional supporting documents such as language certificates and official certificates.After participating in study abroad to South Korea, Ollivia, a student of IUP Ilkom Unpad who passed to Hanyang University, expressed her hope, “hopefully I can bring a lot of knowledge both academically and personal experience so that I can share it with others and I can apply it later in the professional world.” As Ollivia hoped, this program is also expected to strengthen academic ability, cross-cultural adaptation, and competitiveness of Communication Studies students at the global level as part of the development of international standard education.