Education is one of the key factors in strengthening the spirit of togetherness among countries in Southeast Asia as a nation community. It also underlies the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies Gadjah Mada University to open wide opportunities for students from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia and other countries who want to exchange insights and share social-cultural experience.
On Monday (29/05/2017), CESASS received four students from Mahidol University, Thailand in a sharing session held at CESASS office. The four students are Nisanat Watthayu (Faculty of Liberal Arts), Yosita Jampafeung (Faculty of Liberal Arts), Thanatcha Somchaimongkol (Faculty of Liberal Arts) and Warachote Shinwasusin (Faculty of Engineering) who were the recipients of the Backpack Scholarship, a program devoted to explore the ASEAN region and visit campuses with the aim of enhancing global insight, developing sociability skills, and speaking for Thai students. These four students were also ambassadors of the Mahidol University International Relations (MURI) program which aims to support the international cooperation program of Mahidol University.
In this sharing session, four students from Mahidol University presented about MURI program, campus, and activities they have done to participate in the learning process and cultural exchange in Southeast Asia. Indonesia became a country they chose to visit because of their cultural wealth, while UGM was chosen because of its reputation as the oldest university in Indonesia. “We chose Indonesia because Indonesia and Thailand have many similarities, such as the culture and characteristics of its people,” said Warachote Shinwasusin. In addition, Nisanat Watthayu also told us that he had many friends from UGM. “I have many friends from UGM so we also want to visit them here and interact directly,” he said. The sharing session was closed with lunch and a tour around the campus. (Meike)