ACICIS' 2023 Professional Practicum Programs Wrap-Up
1/14/2023 12:00:00 AM
Jakarta, January 2nd - 13th, 2023 - Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia (AJCUI) kicked off the year by starting the 2023 Professional Practicum Programs with The Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies (ACICIS). There were a total of 89 students who joined the program, which started on January 2nd until January 13th, 2023. Those said students came from fields of agriculture, business, creative arts, development, journalism, law, and tourism. ACICIS Resident Director, Dr. Adrian Budiman, gave the opening speech of the program by wishing that the students can make the most of their time studying in Indonesia. The Vice Rector of AJCUI, Dr. Yohanes Eko Adi Prasetyanto, S.Si, also gave the opening speech as the representation of AJCUI.
Opening Remarks from ACICIS Resident Director, Dr. Adrian Budiman
Speech from AJCUI Vice Rector, Dr. Yohanes Eko Adi Prasetyanto, S.Si.
The ACICIS event was going on for 2 weeks. In the first week, the students were introduced to the basic Indonesian language to help them when staying in Indonesia. They also joined some seminars, tutorials, and Company Visits from Indonesia. The students also divided and went to different companies, namely 'Agro Wisata Ragunan', 'Kampung Aquarium', 'Metro TV', 'Mahkamah Konstitusi', and 'Thinking Room'.
In the second week, the students study more about Indonesia and its conditions, especially in their chosen study option. There are a total of 7 study options that were chosen by the students, namely study in Agriculture, Business, Creative Arts & Design, Development Studies, Journalism, Law, and Sustainable Tourism. Other than the study they chose, the students learned about Batik and even practiced making one. They also went to study tours to many places, namely 'Jakarta Smart City', 'Kampung Samtama', 'Kota Tua', 'LP Cipinang', 'Taman Mangrove', and 'Traveloka'.
Long History, New Achievement
Dr. Eko Widodo, the Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration and Communication Studies, gave his opinion regarding the ACICIS program at AJCUI. "This event has been going on for a long time, since 20 years ago," he said on Monday (24/1). Yet, he believed that this year's ACICIS program made a new achievement, as Dr. Eko said "AJCUI has become one of the universities in Indonesia that accepted the most ACICIS students in one batch. For example, in 2022, we accepted 92 students from Australia to study in Indonesia."
Dr. Eko believed that the program is a success and may have an everlasting impact on Australian students. "Here, they were doing Community Service Program where they help the local communities. The Australian students were able to know and understand the real condition in Indonesia. We know that image of Indonesia in the eyes of other countries, especially Australia, usually is negative. Hopefully, the image will improve to be better when the students went back to Australia."
