Faza’s Story of Joining IISMA and Studying in Italy

April 14, 2022 - ( update : 14-06-2022 )

By Adi Permana

Editor Adi Permana

BANDUNG, itb.ac.id-Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards, abbreviated as IISMA, is a funding scheme provided by the Indonesian government for Indonesian students to study at various universities abroad. Fazanaila Nurul Silmi is one of the students who received the scholarship. She is a student from the Microbiology Study Program of Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB).

Faza’s journey to study at the University of Padua (UNIPD) in Italy for the last 5 months began with her interest in this opportunity. “Back then, I was just trying to enroll myself since the requirements were relatively easy for a program exchange,” she said. One of the requirements was an English certification. Faza admitted that she still has the applicable certification, so she used it for the IISMA program.

IISMA gives an opportunity for students to study outside of their study programs. “Even though the courses I take at UNIPD are unrelated to my study program, I am still able to learn various things,” she recently said to the reporter of Public Relations of ITB.

One of the courses she took at UNIPD was philosophy. Faza said that she had been enjoying reading philosophical books since high school. By learning different studies, Faza realized that a new standpoint on a subject can be achieved. During her study in philosophy, she was required to voice her opinions. In science, however, she was required to talk more about facts. This new openness and viewpoint, not only in the academic world, have also been residing in her daily life in Italy.

In addition to studying, IISMA awardees were also tasked to introduce Indonesian cultures. Unfortunately, the current pandemic ordeal has made it impossible for holding big events. So, during Sumpah Pemuda, IISMA awardees, while wearing batik, were only able to hand out batik pouches.

Faza described that the most memorable thing while studying in Italy is interacting with the Italian people. The completely different cultures and backgrounds between Indonesians and Italians has been the main reason for facing a new culture with an open mind.

Lastly, Faza explained that in order to survive in a totally new environment, especially in a country with different races and mindset, is to be adaptive and flexible while still remembering who we really are.

“IISMA is a program that gives great opportunities. Regardless of the courses offered at partner universities that are different from your own, this is still an opportunity to gain experience and develop yourself. Therefore, don’t hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity”, Faza concluded.