OIA Welcomes Delegate from Oberlin Shansi USA
On 24 November 2022, the Office of International Affairs (OIA) of Universitas Syiah Kuala (USK) had the opportunity to host a delegation from the USA. The visit was dedicated to strengthen the cooperation between Universitas Syiah Kuala and Oberlin Shansi. Talbani Farlian, S.E., M.A, the Coordinator of OIA welcomed warmly Ted Samuel, Deputy Director of Oberlin Shansi, at the OIA office.
“Welcome to Universitas Syiah Kuala. We are proud to welcome you to our campus. It was an excellent occasion to explore ways to continue to expand our relationship to benefit the students and faculties from both institutions”, said the Coordinator of OIA.
“So far, I found our cooperation has given a great impact, especially for Universitas Syiah Kuala. The English classes taught by the American fellows made students more enthusiastic to learn English. Besides teaching, the fellows also have given other certain contributions by participating in the university events or workshops and so on”, he added.
The cooperation between Universitas Syiah Kuala and Oberlin Shansi started in 2005 first through the Fellowship program. The fellowship program is a regular annual program that gives a chance for Oberlin Shansi fellows to conduct academic activities at Universitas Syiah Kuala. The fellows will be able to teach English classes and conduct interactive activities that involve the university students, like English Speaking Club, Movie Club, and others. Currently, Oberlin Shansi has assigned two fellows at Universitas Syiah Kuala, they are Lucy Ostheimer and Jack Arnold Stevens. Another program, Oberlin Shansi offers Visiting Scholar program, since 2013. It gives a chance for lecturers of Universitas Syiah Kuala to teach for one semester at Oberlin Shansi. The program provides scholars with opportunities to build networking with Oberlin professors, conduct research, teach, experience academic activities, or even work as volunteers with local community organizations.
“It is great to know that our fellows enjoy staying here and working as a fellow at Universitas Syiah Kuala. I hope they can learn more to improve their skills and obtain many experiences so they can broaden their worldviews and knowledge”, said Deputy Director of Oberlin Shansi.
Before visiting the OIA office, Ted Samuel visit an English class at Pusat Bahasa that was taught by Lucy, accompanied by Jack. After the class and visiting the OIA, he enjoyed the movie club held on that day at the Main Library. The movie club is a weekly program organized by the Oberlin Shansi fellows in collaboration with the Student Literacy Club of Universitas Syiah Kuala.
