Since it was first launched by the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, Technology, and Higher Education (Menristekdikti) Nadiem Makarim, the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program has become a prima donna for students of the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka Program. Many students 'hunt' this program because they want to experience a different educational and cultural atmosphere abroad.

The Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) is no exception. Every year, this program is attended by hundreds of students, but due to the strict selection process, only dozens make it through. In 2021, USU managed to pass five students, in 2022, ten students, then in 2023 there were nine students, and this year, 2024, it increased to fifteen students. The graph of the increase in students who passed the IISMA indicates that the quality of USU students is getting better so that they are able to become awardees of the IISMA program which is the dream of many students throughout Indonesia.

Aisah Fahrani from the Chinese Language Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) is one of 15 students who this year have the independent opportunity to study abroad through the IISMA program at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. She was thrilled when she found out that she had successfully 'conquered' the IISMA selection process.

Aisah said that it was not easy to go through the selection stages of the IISMA Program. There were many obstacles, one of which was passing the TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo test. Apart from the difficult tests, the costs incurred are also not small. “Many awardees have to take multiple tests to get satisfactory results,” she said.

Similarly, Vanness Cantona, a student of the English Literature Study Program, Faculty of Arts USU, qualified for Michigan State University, United States. Apart from the English test, another difficulty was that he had to write a good, relevant, and memorable essay. A good essay is the first key to passing the first stage of selection. In the process of making an essay, Vannes admitted to doing more than a month of preparation and research. “Tired for sure, but for the sake of realizing dreams, I always remember not to back down,” he said.

A different story was experienced by Hilmi Muthahhari Situmorang, a student of the Management Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB). He has even targeted to pass IISMA from the previous semesters. Therefore, he tried hard to balance academic and non-academic activities. “These two things need to be fought for and balanced, tired and weary is certain, but the key is not to give up easily,” said Hilmi, who successfully qualified for Singapore Management University, Singapore. The tight competition to qualify as IISMA awardees, coupled with the cost of the test, is often a challenge in itself. Aisah Fahrani said that it was not uncommon for her colleagues to have to try two to three times to get an English certificate.

One test costs at least Rp900,000. Therefore, the awardees assessed that the biggest challenge to take the IISMA test is the limited cost. For this reason, the awardees hope that in the future this process can be changed, or if possible, the test fee is subsidized or free.

If the costs incurred are high enough, the opportunity to study abroad will be closed to those who are low in the economy. The IISMA program will only be enjoyed by the upper middle class and is considered less equitable. Ridwan Firmansyah from FEB, Management Study Program, who qualified for National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, agrees with this.

Therefore, he advised the 2025 awardees to prepare themselves well. “Especially saving money, preparing funds for English tests and others, improving your English, keeping your GPA above 3.0, enriching your CV by being active in organizations, and choosing your university wisely,” Ridwan said. In line with Ridwan, Edbert Nathaniel, a student of FEB USU, Management Study Program who qualified for the University of Queensland, Australia, also shared his tips, namely by researching and finding out about IISMA in detail, self-reflection to find out your own abilities, strengths and weaknesses and prepare the selection document requirements as early as possible.

The Rector of the Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU), Prof. Dr. Muryanto Amin, S.Sos., M.Si., on various occasions, continues to encourage USU students to achieve brilliant achievements. The Rector always motivates USU students to become true learners who never give up and are adaptive to changing times.

During his leadership, the internationalization of the university became an important target that had to be realized. Therefore, the IISMA Program is a USU priority scale that is consistently implemented every year. The awardees who pass IISMA are expected not only to experience a different educational climate, but are also expected to be good messengers and impressions of USU in the international eyes.

The IISMA 2024 awardees have succeeded in realizing their dreams with hard work and consistency in overcoming obstacles and hurdles. They have proven themselves to be strong learners, as expected. The Rector hopes that after their return from the IISMA Program, they will be able to become the golden generation for Indonesia.