On October 12, 2022 four participants were invited to Skyline College under the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) with the purpose of establishing a new partnership in the future that will play a role in expanding Indonesia and United States partnership in higher education.
The meeting began with Dr. Melissa Moreno, President of Skyline College, welcoming the visitors to Skyline College. After a few introductions led by Interim Dean of Global Learning Programs and Services, Zaid Ghori, the international programs (Study Abroad, International Education, and Silicon Valley Intensive English Program (SVIEP)) provided a brief overview of their respective programs. After a quick overview of the programs, the participants shared about the programs they had at their own universities and possibilities for future collaborations with Skyline College. In particular, the participants were interested in doing an exchange where students from the College would study abroad in Indonesia and vice versa.
The participants also heard from two Skyline College students from Indonesia. They were interested in knowing more about the U.S. college experience from the perspective of the students. Sebastian Farel Sutjipto, a first semester student, shared that he has had a positive experience overall, with supportive professors and staff, access to facilities such as the STEM Center and Learning Center, and that he was happy to be at Skyline College. Lasheana Dilian Husni, a 4th semester student, shared her experience starting out as a Global Online Learning (GOL) program student where she took classes online for two semesters from her home in Indonesia, before arriving in the U.S. to continue her studies as an F1 international student in the Spring of 2022. She shared how she was able to get a lot of resources despite being online and how supportive her professors were when she took her online classes.
The visit ended with a lovely picture of the participants and the two Skyline College students from Indonesia.
The participants were:
- Mr. Iman Harymawan, PhD, Head of Airlangga Global Engagement (AGE) and an Editor-in-Chief, Asian Journal of Accounting Research in Universitas Airlangga.
- Mr. Didin Nuruddin Hidayat, EdD, Coordinator, 5000 Doctor Scholarships, Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA), Republic of Indonesia and Head in the Departments of English Education, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University.
- Mr. Chairul Hudaya, PhD, Reactor (President) of Sumbaway University of Technology (UTS) and a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in University of Indonesia.
- Ms. Ika Safitri Windiarti, PhD, Vice Reactor (President) II of Muhammadiyah University of Palangkaraya and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science in Muhammadiyah University of Palangkaraya.
Accompanying the participants were two International Visitor Liaisons, Mr. Shawn Callanan and Mr. Charles Ariwijaya.
They were hosted by:
- Dr. Melissa Moreno, President, Skyline College.
- Michael Kane, Dean of Business, Education, Professional Programs, Skyline College.
- Zaid Ghori, Interim Dean of Global Learning Programs and Services, Skyline College.
- Chikako Walker, Acting Director of International Education, District Office.
- Yuri Goda, Project Manager, Silicon Valley Intensive English Program.
- Perla Rumayor, Interim Executive Director-Community, Contract and Corporate Education
- Clair Yeo-Sugajski, Acting Program Manager, International Student Program, Skyline College.
- Sebastian Farel Sutjipto, Skyline College’s International Student from Indonesia.
- Lasheana Dilian Husni, Skyline College’s International Student from Indonesia.
Article by Lasheana Dilian Husni and Clair Yeo-Sugajski | Photos by Kelly Li and Clair Yeo-Sugajski
