Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) recently welcomed a new batch of international students who will be pursuing their studies at UGM through the Kemitraan Negara Berkembang (KNB) Scholarship.
This year, UGM received 15 awardees from 10 countries, namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Timor Leste. The awardees consist of 3 doctoral students and 12 master’s students, who will be enrolled in 12 faculties and 15 study programs across UGM.
The awardees first joined the welcoming ceremony and inauguration event hosted by the Ministry of Higher Education in Jakarta on August 24-26 before arriving in Yogyakarta. The event served as a symbolic welcome to Indonesia, where students participated in orientation activities and met fellow awardees from across the globe.
“I felt so welcomed here, and you could feel the warmth and friendliness of every Indonesian that you made contact with,” said Edwin Kimathi Kaaria, one of KNB awardees from Kenya who will be taking his Master’s degree in Geomatics Engineering UGM. “I chose UGM because it’s a world-class university, and therefore I know all my expectations about studying there will be met. Also, the facilities here are well-equipped to ensure that I have the necessary skills once I’m done with my studies. I’m really excited to begin my academic journey at UGM,” he concluded.
Before starting their academic journey, all KNB awardees are required to undergo the Indonesian language program or BIPA (Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing) in their first year. In UGM, the BIPA program will be held under INCULS (Indonesian Culture and Language Services) in the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. This intensive program helps students to prepare themselves before they officially begin their studies in their respective fields.
The KNB Scholarship is a scholarship offered by the Indonesian Government to international students from developing countries to pursue higher education in Indonesia. In 2025, there are a total of 250 KNB awardees from 46 countries placed across various Indonesian universities.
Through this program, UGM continues to contribute to international academic collaboration while also promoting Indonesia’s rich culture and academic excellence to the global community.
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