Pre Departure Briefing attracts more than 250 students
20 Aug 2010
Nuffic-Neso Indonesia successfully held a pre-departure briefing event for Indonesian students who will continue their study in the Netherlands.
More than 250 students participated in the event at the Erasmus Huis in Jakarta and Surabaya. Guests of honour in Jakarta were Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Mrs. Annemieke Ruigrok, Director General of Higher Education of the Ministry of National Education, Mr. Djoko Santoso, and the Director of Nuffic-Neso Indonesia, Mr. Marrik Bellen.
Mrs. Annemieke Ruigrok congratulated the participants with their choice to pursue their study in the Netherlands which will allow them to gain more knowledge and international experience. Besides the importance for the development cooperation between Indonesia and The Netherlands, it also enables both countries to enhance their understanding about each others' culture.
Director General of Higher Education of the Ministry of National Education, Mr Djoko Santoso, mentioned in his speech that the students obtained a great opportunity to study in the Netherlands, a country whose quality in education and research is among one of the best in the world. Moreover, the fact that almost everyone speaks fluent English is evidence that the Netherlands is truly an international country.
The Pre-departure briefing is designed to help and support Indonesian students, regardless of the source of funding, who will pursue their studies in the Netherlands. They also met with about 50 alumni who shared their experiences and gave tips concerning living and studying in the Netherlands and in doing so helped prepare the prospect students for a successful study period. Topics such as how to deal with culture shock, how to adjust to a different education methodology and how to interact with teachers and international classmates were also part of the programme during the pre departure event.
A smaller Pre Departure Briefing was held at simultaneously at the Surabaya office where about 30 mostly self financed students attended the event. As was the case in Jakarta, the information given by the alumni was considered very useful by the students as for most of them it will be their first time to stay abroad.