As a part of improving the quality of the Kemitraan Negara Berkembang (KNB) scholarship management,
UNHAS International Office (IO) team visited the Indonesian University of Education, known as UPI, in Bandung
City, West Java on Friday 27th January 2023. The team was welcomed personally by , Prof. Ahmad Bukhori
Muslim, Ph.D. the Director of the UPI International Affairs Directorate. The UNHAS IO team learned a lot about
KNB scholarship management. Prof. Abu emphasized that managing KNB students requires serious care and
attention, as from the beginning UPI experienced several challenges in KNB management, such as some
students withdrawing after two years of study. Another challenge was that undergraduate programs at UPI
were not yet ready to welcome their new students. Therefore, UPI decided to only accept postgraduate
students.
The reception ceremony was held on the 3rd floor of the UPI University Center Building. The UNHAS IO team,
represented by Muhammad Ridwan, the Secretary of UNHAS International Office, Rafika Ramli an IO Task Force
member and Andi Afifah Fayyadah, S.I.kom, an apprentice staff member, also shared their one-year experience
with managing KNB students accepted in 2021. Ridwan explained that UNHAS has been a member of the host
universities managing KNB students since 2021, and now has three KNB students, namely, Anwar Muneer
majoring in Informatic Engineering, Kanchul Louis, majoring in Law and Andrea Sofia majoring in Marine
Science.
Before the end of the meeting, Ridwan presented UNHAS merchandise to Prof. Abu. Tuszie Widhiyanti, Ph.D of
the International Program Development Section and Fachru Ridha, S.S, the Admission Staff continued the
discussion about KNB management. In order to build harmony among universities in Bandung, UPI was part of
a consortium embracing public and private universities. This consortium aims to strengthen the relationship
with other universities hosting international students. The consortium has held several activities like friendly
futsal matches and Saturday meetings at each university. Ridwan expressed his appreciation regarding the
actions that can be taken to avoid students’ feeling bored.