Unimus | Taiwan (December 12, 2017) Already 18 years old, Universitas Muhammadiyah Semarang is stretching its wings. A couple of partnership with various higher education institutions abroad has been established. The attempts made are to internationalize the institution. During his 5-day visit to the Republic of China Taiwan (December 7-11, 2017), Prof. Dr.Masrukhi, M.Pd., the rector of Unimus, established new cooperation with 7 big universities in Taiwan, either public or private universities. He visited the country along with other delegations of Muhammadiyah higher education institutions le Prof. Lincolin Arsyad, M.Sc, Ph.D., chairman of Council of Higher Education and Research and Development of Muhammadiyah Central Executive Board.
The Taiwanese institutions are Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hung Kuang University, Asia University, Da-Yeh University, National Cheng Kung University, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Scope of the cooperation covers various academic activities, from student exchanges, doctoral studies with scholarship, teaching staff exchanges, library or research materials, participation and collaboration in scientific events, student and staff visit, to research collaborations.
Postgraduate studies at institutions in Taiwan, both master and doctoral degree, are possible to take. In addition to some scholarship and freelance activities, living cost in Taiwan is relatively not different from that in Indonesia. Not only chance to get Budi LN (scholarship for lecturers to study abroad) from the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education, they can also apply for Taiwan Government Scholarship, or University Scholarship. Of course, they can only choose one of those.
The Government of Taiwan offers scholarship for international students. The amount of fund ranges between 20,000 and 30,000 New Taiwan Dollar (NTD), equal to Rp. 10,000,000 – 15,000,000 for master and doctoral programs. As for university scholarship, the amount is different at each institution. Higher education institution in Tainan will give 5,000 NTD (Rp.2,400,000) for master degree and 9,000 NTD (Rp. 4,320,000) for doctoral degree (Ph.D.). Meanwhile, higher education institutions usually give scholarship for master programs between 10,000-15,000 NTD and 10,000 – 15,000 NTD for doctoral programs.
The scholarship recipients will also have opportunities to get additional incomes if they can become teaching assistants or research assistants. The incomes start from 5,000 NTD (Rp. 2,400,000). They can also look for some freelance jobs, with wages between 100 and 120 NTD (Rp. 40,000 – Rp. 60,000) per hour. But, they have to own a working permit issued by the international relations office of the university and the working hour is limited to maximally 20 hours a week.
What about the living cost for a student in Taiwan? As for the living cost in Tainan (the atmosphere is similar to that in Yogyakarta); no tuition fee is asked by the local campuses. The daily living cost ranges between 5,000 and 7, 000 NTD (Rp. 2,000,000 – Rp. 3,000,000 per month). As for the accommodation, if you choose living at an apartment unit, the cost is 2,500-5,000 NTD (Rp. 1,500,000 – Rp. 2,000,000) per month. But, renting a campus dormitory will only costs Rp. 2,500,000 – Rp. 6,500,000 per six months. It is a little different from the living cost in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. The living cost is between 10,000 NTD and 15,000 NTD (Rp. 5,000,000 – 12,500,000) with the accommodation cost between 5,000 and 15,000 NTD (Rp. 2,000,000 – 12,500,000).
Chance to get scholarship for studying in Taiwan is so big, supported with complete learning facilities (university hospital, full access library, sports center, etc.). It motivates Unimus to guide the students and all of the academicians to get the opportunities to study in foreign countries. Through the cooperation with the seven universities in Taiwan, chances for self-development for the students, lecturers and the rest of the academicians are very open for the internationalization of Unimus, in accordance with the vision and missions.
Reported by the Rector of Unimus from Taiwan
