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Author: Vincent Suselo
On October 5th, 2024, Fu Jen Catholic University’s Indonesian Student Association (FUISA) held a Welcome Party for the school’s Indonesian students to hang out, and specifically, welcome the year’s new batch of Indonesian first-years.
The FUISA Welcome Party is the staple event of the association, as it is always the association's first event every school year, and it helps the school’s new batch of Indonesian first-years to get to know other Indonesian students. To the current FUISA president, Angie Ivan Lie, the purpose of the event is to simply make new Indonesian students feel at home and “let them know they’re not alone here.”
Grace, a first-year student, commented that the event allowed her to get to know and bond with other Indonesian students. This made the new Indonesian students, like herself, feel welcome, especially in a foreign environment.
Attendees were able to enter the venue beginning at 10:00 A.M. They were separated into predetermined groups, and the first icebreaker activity commenced. Each group member went down in a line reciting the names of each group member, allowing each team to introduce themselves to each other. This icebreaking activity was followed by a game called “Hoop Relay” in which each team held their hands together and stood in a line. The goal was to be the fastest team to get a piece of string tied like a hoop past the final member in line without letting go of each other’s hands and without the string touching the ground. The final activity was the “Ping Pong Game” where each team would have to relay a ping-pong ball by using cardboard pieces as the ball’s path. Players weren’t allowed to directly touch the ball or walk too far without passing the ball to someone else.
Photo source: FUISA. Event attendees impromptu group photo
According to the attendees that were interviewed, the games were engaging and entertaining. Millo, a fourth-year student, found that the “Ping Pong Game” was his most memorable activity because it resulted in numerous funny incidents in his team. Ivanna, a first-year student, also felt that the games helped foster solidarity and good cooperation between her team members.
Photo source: FUISA. Final group photo of Welcome Party attendees
In between the two games was a segment akin to a talk show where attendees could anonymously ask questions that FUISA’s president and vice president would answer. This provided an opportunity for attendees to ask any question related to student life, without fear of shame. According to Ivanna, she was able to learn “a lot of information” from this segment. Overall, Lie found that the event was a general success. The turnout was great and the planning was worth “seeing everyone laughing and bonding.” She looks forward to organizing more events and strengthening the Indonesian community at FJU.
In recent years, Taiwan has shown a growing interest in Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, especially in attracting international students and workers to supplement its labor force. For example, the country is looking to train and raise high-tech talent for its world-class semiconductor industry. For the 2024 Fall Semester, National Taiwan University is launching a new semiconductor undergraduate programme taught in English, where all 10 spots were filled shortly after applications opened.
An increasing number of universities have also set up new departments or programs related to Southeast Asia. National ChengChi University (NCCU), a prominent university in Taiwan, has established its own Department of Southeast Asian Languages and Culture. Other universities that have established their own Department of Southeast Asian Studies are National Chi Nan University (NCNU) and Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages (WZU). Various other universities have also started their own degrees (both undergraduate and postgraduate) and programs related to Southeast Asia, such as National Taipei University.
Another program held by the government to attract Indonesian talent specifically is the “Yin Fu Ban,” which is a yearly counseling and training course for Overseas Chinese Indonesian high school graduates looking to pursue tertiary education in Taiwan. The supplementary course lasts 9 weeks and after completion, the students will be able to enroll in Taiwanese universities. This year, 71 students completed the course and obtained graduation certificates. The course familiarizes the students with the country's culture and helps them improve their Chinese language skills. These students will join over 16,000 other Indonesian students studying in Taiwanese universities and around 100,000 students from other countries.
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