As a follow-up to the Indonesian Festival activities, a collaboration between the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok and Walailak University (WU), the Education and Cultural Attache of the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok, Achmad Wicaksono, awarded two selected students from WU with a one-week tour around UB and Malang. The objective of this program was to provide Thai students with better knowledge of Universitas Brawijaya (UB) in Malang, Indonesia.
The tour reward program, which started on September 22, 2023, became even more special since it was followed by a seven-month internship program. WU and UB, who have established several MoU agreements in the education sector, seized the opportunity of the internship to collaborate on activities aimed at developing Thai language learning materials, Thai language courses, and collaborative writing about Indonesian and Thai culture. This collaboration was expected to improve the abilities of UB students to support the achievement of the fourth SDGs goal of Quality Education.
Upon their arrival in Malang, the two WU students received a warm welcome from the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) UB, who would later become their host during their internship program at the Study Program of Indonesian Language and Literature Education.
Apart from gaining a deeper understanding of UB, the two students from WU also had the chance to explore Batu City and Malang Regency. They visited several popular tourist attractions, such as the Sawah Café Tour in Pujon Kidul, Balekambang Beach, and the Topeng Panji Malang mask production site, which has become an icon of Malang’s arts and culture.
Pattarawadee, also known as Diya, one of the two WU students, expressed her joy at receiving this rare and valuable opportunity.
“I appreciate the program provided by the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok to my university. I hope this program can be implemented every year so that more students, not only from WU but also from various universities in Thailand, can visit UB and see the beautiful city of Malang,” said Diya.
It is hoped that programs like this can strengthen relations and cooperation between Indonesia and Thailand, particularly in the fields of education and culture. The indicator for achieving SDGs goal 4 in this program involved increasing global partnerships for sustainable development, facilitated by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources. These efforts aimed to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, especially in developing countries. [dts]
