PURSUE A DEGREE IN FRANCE DURING PANDEMIC

Covid-19 pandemic has not become a barrier for the France government to promote its higher institutions and scholarship programs for foreign prospective students.

Universitas Syiah Kuala in collaboration with Campus France Indonesia successfully held an educational webinar to promote universities of France and several scholarship programs, 26 October 2020, via the Zoom platform. The virtual webinar presented several informative speakers, they are Sylvian Lelong-Lacroix, as the coordinator of Higher Institution Cooperation and Campus France National, Nur Hidayah, as the person in charge of Campus France Medan, Indah Tridiyanti, as the person in charge of France Alumni, and Yessi Nahampun as the coordinator of Alliance Française Culture and Communication.

On the opening session, Dr. Hizir, the Vice-Rector for Project Planning, Cooperation and Public Relations of Universitas Syiah Kuala said “For those whom pursue a study in France, or follow a student exchange program, France is a promising place and you can obtain numerous experiences, both from education and cultural perspectives”.

Regarding alumni, the recent data show that the number of alumni from Indonesia is increasing since both countries have university collaboration and student mobility programs. “The number of alumni from Indonesia who has completed a degree in France is increased from 2014 to 2019”, stated Sylvian Lelong-Lacroix. Moreover, he also stated France is one of the countries that still open admission for international students during the pandemic, followed by several health requirements.

According to Nurhidayah, she stated that in this year France government offers a various scholarship program for the prospective international student, they are Partial Scholarship, France Excellence Scholarship Program, Eiffel Unggulan Scholarship Program, ISBD Scholarship, MOPGA Scholarship, and others. Details of these programs can be seen on the website www.indonesia.campusfrance.org

On this occasion, the webinar also presented an alumnus who has finished her study program in France, Mimie Saputri S.Pd., MEEL. She is an alumnus of Universite de La Rochelle and now a lecturer of Universitas Syiah Kuala, Study Program of Biology, Faculty of Teacher Training Program. She not just shared her valuable experiences, but also motivated the university students to study in France.