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| Lalu Dhiya Ditria, HI UMM student who won the IISMA scholarship. (Photo: Istimewa) |
One of the interesting experiences when studying abroad is the breadth of friendships from various countries that can later be utilised. Whether for educational, business or other collaborations. This was conveyed by Lalu Dhiya Ditria, a student of International Relations (HI) at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) who won a scholarship for the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) programme.
Thanks to his perseverance in learning and easy access to scholarship information from UMM, Ditria, as he is familiarly called, managed to study for one semester at the University of Sussex, Brighton City, England. His dream to feel the cold weather in a foreign country was successfully achieved.
From a young age, he has always attended countless language centres since she was a child. It was also what inspired her to make the effort to study abroad, especially in the United Kingdom.
She claimed to be in a very supportive environment during her time there. She received information and opportunities to get a job, counselling, materials to write articles correctly and according to standards, and friends who were fun to discuss with.
"Moreover, the University of Sussex is a prestigious campus in the UK and the level of competition is very high. I am also happy to have access to the English Language Centre to help me with writing, assignments and mediums that meet campus standards," she explained.
One thing that she finds interesting is the learning using the latest cases. Students are invited to analyse based on current and relevant cases. According to him, it makes students more interested in participating in discussions.
Also read: Ups and Downs Experience of Studying in Liverpool: A Story of A UMM Student
It just so happens that he also has free time to explore the campus. Starting from the park, which is often a place where other students gather, to the buildings that have interesting architecture. One place she always likes is the library, which is cosy and supportive of studying.
"There, apart from studying and traveling, I also did part-time work. That's because students are encouraged to be more work-oriented at the University of Sussex. So, we not only focus on learning but also on managing our finances and skills," she said.
Another difference he found during his studies was the communication between students. For him, students there are more individualistic. Especially when working on group work. They seemed to be silent but they were able to finish well in the end.
"If I pay attention, students there are more communicative in doing assignments. Group work also runs efficiently because we only discuss important points when we meet. They also rarely communicate online because they are busy," he concluded.(cdr/ros/wil)
