The Story Behind Erasmus+ Students 2021 UPOL-Czech Republic
Getting an Erasmus+ scholarship which is organized by the European Government is an achievement to be proud of. This was two students of Trunojoyo Madura University in the odd semester of the 2020/2021 academic year. The students are Nicki Indah Permatasari and Shanty Wijayanti. Nicki comes from the English department study program. While Shanty comes from the Mechatronics study program. In June, they were selected as nominees for this Erasmus+ Mobility program at Palacky University, Czech Republic. They get the opportunity to study for one semester.
On September 3, they departed from Soekarno Hatta airport in Jakarta and landed in Prague. This is not easy because of regulations during the covid-19 pandemic. The Erasmus+ mobility program facilitates accommodation fees, travel fees, and health insurance, all of which are covered by Palacky University. Their arrival at the dormitory was welcomed by the campus dormitory which required them to quarantine for five days as per local government regulations for immigrants from outside the Czech Republic. After that, they are required to do an RT-PCR test with a negative result and then continue with lectures. As Shanty said, “the early weeks were still a bit difficult because we are in a country that is very, very different in terms of environment, culture and food.”
Both of the girls take study on Education Faculty and specialized on English Languange and Literature. Despite of the difference of the study background in home university, Shanty said that she didn’t find any difficulties to catch up with the classes, because there are no such a wasted on knowledge and study. ” I taken all the risk and challenge to participating in this program and have no regrets to choose this chance because it might be the only opportunity that never come twice in my life “.
The Erasmus+ program is a very prestigious program. Not all universities in Indonesia get this opportunity. Trunojoyo University Madura for the first time got this. In addition, this program is very capable of helping students to increase their skills in the aspect of language, connect with other international students, and learn about the world’s cultures. For Nicki, this opportunity is a golden opportunity for her. Not only that, She said, “This is where my speaking skills are also tested. It’s more challenging than any language certification test I’ve ever taken. So, there’s no way I’m going to waste this golden opportunity.”