Faisal was awarded the International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) by the Ministry of Culture, Education, and Research. Through this program, he was sponsored to study at the University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands for one semester. Faisal arrived in the Netherlands on 1 September 2021 and returned to Indonesia on 7 February 2022. The IISMA program covers the cost of both Faisal's daily needs and his tuition fee. "I am very grateful to be accepted into this program," said Faisal.

As the first batch of the IISMA program, Faisal admitted that he encountered some difficulties in preparing for the administration. "One of the challenges is that there is no reference when writing the essay, considering that this program has just opened this year," explained Faisal. The administration requirements include a recommendation letter from the university, a language certificate, a GPA transcript, and a motivational essay.

However, because of his strong commitment to studying abroad, he worked his way past those obstacles. During the selection process, Faisal prepared all the documents and trained for the interview with his friend who is also applying to this program. Luckily, Faisal and his friend were admitted into this program.

Faisal himself took Geographic Information System and Earth-Observation courses during his stay in De Oranje. The supportive learning ecosystem makes Faisal felt comfortable during his stay. He said that the lecturers are very hospitable, and its curriculum is very interesting. "So, at the end of the course, we will be offered to join multiple projects from various lecturers with wide specialty and we can choose a specific task that suits our interest," he said. Faisal himself ended up working on a project that sought to create an automatic building-identification system by utilizing satellite imagery and European city regional design theory.

Apart from his academic activities, he also took his time to visit other European countries. Some of the countries that Faisal visited are Italy, Swiss, Germany, Vatican, etc. From his adventure, he learned many things such as cultural differences, geographic conditions, and the social differences between Indonesia and Europe. In the Netherlands, he visited some museums that displayed Indonesian colonial history.

Faisal said that he experienced cultural shock during his early days in the Netherlands, such as finding a shop that was only open from 12 PM to 5 PM. Moreover, he was amazed by how popular bicycles are in the Netherlands that even the grocery shop and his campus parking lots are filled with bicycles. As a person who spent his life living in a tropical climate, he also needs to adapt to the colder climate.

At the end of the interview, Faisal advised us to prepare all the administration documents as well as possible. To ensure a good result, we need to know ourselves and maximize our potential. "By knowing yourself, writing the motivational essay or preparing the interview will be much easier," said Faisal. He also advised us to motivate each other.

Moreover, he also said to be very careful when choosing a university. "Adjust your choice to fit your capacity and that suits your interest, don't force yourself to choose a prestigious university just because of ego or choosing a less-known university just to have an easier time being admitted," said Faisal ending the interview session.

Reporter: Kevin Agriva Ginting (Geodesy and Geomatic Engineering, 2020)

Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)