Jakarta –
United States (US) students and university students to Indonesia for the 2023/2024 period increased by 320 percent. The majority of US students learned about Indonesian coffees in short student exchanges.
The latest Open Doors data on International Educational Exchange under the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State and the Institute of International Education (IIE) released on Monday (11/18/2024) shows that US students studying in Indonesia increased by 320 percent .
“147 (students) in 2023, to 597 (students) in 2024. The numbers have started to return to pre-COVID levels,” said Assistant Cultural Attache of the US Embassy who oversees the EducationUSA Indonesia program, Mary Trechock, to journalists, written Wednesday (27/11 /2024).
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Trechock explained that many of the US students underwent short student exchanges to Indonesia. And the majority learn about Indonesian coffee.
“Many US students are interested in developing courses here. At the University of California Davis, there is a Coffee Development department. Well, that department collaborates with the coffee development department at universities in Indonesia. These students are diligent in tasting Aceh Gayo coffee and several types of coffee in Indonesia,” added Trechock.
Indonesian students going to the US fell slightly
Previously, Trechock presented data that data for Indonesian students studying in the US fell slightly by around 1.4%. In the 2023/2024 period the number of Indonesian students going to the US was 8,348 compared to the 2022/2023 period which was 8,467 students.
However, of the 8,348 Indonesian students who went to the US for the 2023/2024 period, the percentage of short-term exchange students increased by 28.6%, almost 30% as a result of the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program.
Trechock added that the increase in short student exchanges to campuses in the US was also contributed by the increasing number of US campuses that were willing to accept Indonesian students.
“Here our mission is to encourage IISMA students. When I arrived last year there were only 5 campuses accepting IISMA program students. Now there are 15 US campuses accepting IISMA program students,” explained Trechock.
US campuses, added Trechock, said that they wanted to accept more exchange students from Indonesia.
“We think a short student exchange is the right way to introduce Indonesian students to the world of education abroad. The few experiences studying abroad that many IISMA students experience compared to studying Masters and PhD in the US, shows them that the US is an option which is right for learning,” explained Trechock, who has been involved in the world of international education for 20 years.
Apart from the IISMA program, Indonesian students who take part in Optional Practical Training (OPT) also contribute to the number of Indonesian students in the US.
“This is a change program to work in the US after graduating, these students can work from anywhere for 12 to 48 months depending on the field of study in the US after graduating. There is a 10% increase in the number of Indonesian OPT students compared to last year,” explained Trechock.
Students from Indonesia, added Trechock, are liked by US campuses because of their diligent, intelligent character, including how to carry themselves, and are also active in social activities in the US.
“So campuses in the US want more students from Indonesia, but that doesn’t deny that China and India contribute the largest number of students in the US. We just want more different, more international students studying in the US,” concluded Trechock.
(nwk/nah)
