UMS Student Participate in Credit Exchange with UMSabah

Bagas Tirta Syech Maulana, a student from the Accounting Department at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS), was the sole UMS representative to participate in the offline Student Mobility Program at University Malaysia Sabah (UMSabah), Malaysia.

This program is part of an international collaboration aimed at enhancing students' cross-cultural academic experience. Additionally, such global partnerships serve to improve students' competitiveness in the global arena.

Bagas shared that his participation in the program was the result of an internal selection process organized by his department.

“The information about the program came from the department. Then there was a selection stage before I was finally chosen to participate directly in Malaysia,” he said on Friday (23/5/2025).

Bagas (third from left) enjoying class activities with friends at UMSabah, Malaysia. Personal documentation.

The Mobility Program spans one semester, beginning with online classes on 17 March 2025 and continuing with in-person learning from 7 April to 27 July 2025. The online learning period was arranged to accommodate the Eid al-Fitr celebrations in both countries. After the holidays, the in-person classes commenced with a focus on credit transfer of courses.

“This is like a regular college class, except it’s conducted abroad. The focus is on coursework, alongside student activities, cultural immersion, and exploring iconic places in Sabah,” he added.

During the program, Bagas received extensive support from both UMS and UMSabah. Tuition fees were fully covered by UMSabah, while UMS supported other expenses including visa, transportation, insurance, administrative fees, health checks, and accommodation.

For daily living expenses in Malaysia, he received a subsidy from the UMS Accounting department, though he also covered part of the costs himself.

“This is a valuable opportunity because I live in the international residence and interact with students from various countries such as Brunei, Japan, and Korea. It really trains me to adapt and understand different cultures and communication styles,” he said.

Bagas admitted that adapting to the language posed a challenge. Although Malay is quite similar to Indonesian, misunderstandings still occurred.

“There are some words that mean something completely different there. But from that, I learned to be more careful in communication,” he noted.

To qualify for the program, Bagas had to prepare several documents requested by the department and then underwent an interview stage.

“The questions were about my study plans in Malaysia and what I aimed to achieve after completing the program. Alhamdulillah, I was able to answer them well,” he explained.

Bagas hopes that through this program, he will not only improve his English proficiency but also expand his cultural understanding and international network.

“I want to learn from a multicultural environment, improve my communication skills, and use this experience to enrich my perspective as an accounting student,” he concluded.

Bagas’s participation in this program reflects UMS’s strong commitment to encouraging students to take active roles in international programs to develop graduates who are excellent, adaptive, and globally minded.

Writer: Fika Annisa Sholihah

Editor: Maysali Sudarwati

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid