Beasiswa Kemitraan Negara Berkembang or KNB scholarship is a prestigious scholarship program provided by the government of the Republic of Indonesia to potential students from developing countries. The program offers to pursue a degree (Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate) within a vast range of fields of study in top universities and colleges in Indonesia. Since 2008, the scholarship has been disbursed to 1,290 students from 94 countries. Holding a central role in Indonesian higher institutions’ internationalization, the program is expected to build people-to-people relations between Indonesia and the recipient countries. Moreover, it does not only accommodate the students to enhance their intellectual standing but also allows them to experience living in a diverse and multicultural society.

Here are some activities of KNB Students during studying in UNESA:

Welcome to Unesa KNB Students

On the day KNB Students come to Surabaya, for long hours we are waiting for them to arrive at the Office of International Affairs Sunday (February 20, 2022). Some of the OIA volunteers preparing for a little welcoming party, and some of the Person In Charge (PIC) of OIA volunteers went to take them to Juanda Airport. 

In total Unesa would have 4 KNB students, unfortunately, only three of them came at the same time. One of four KNB Students Mr. Vato scheduled arrived in Surabaya on Saturday (02/26/2022). Let us introduce from the left Mr. Dock (with brown clothes), in the middle Ms. Matty (with green hijab), and last Ms. Isata (with baby blue T-shirt). The conversation started with Mr.Asrori (with blue shirt), times went very fast, it was time to say goodbye with them before they went to Dormitory. Took a picture with them as if Indonesian culture to show our special moment. 

Finally, six days after 3 of the KNB students had arrived at Unesa, Mr.Vato (with a white T-shirt) arrived in Surabaya. Because of his time flight bit of night, we couldn’t meet him, he went directly to his boarding house. Welcome to Surabaya, see you on your next unexpected journey in Unesa KNB Students.

Exploring Surabaya with UNESA KNB Awardee Students

    If you like to exploring the wonderful places, Surabaya can be the best answer for you.  There are many kinds of places that you can visit in this city. The historical, unique, new or contemporary and many more places are ready to welcoming you. By this chance, the KNB (Kemitraan Negara Berkembang) Scholarship Awardees in UNESA don’t want to miss this amazing chance. On Thursday (17/3), there are three awardees/students who joined the Surabaya City Tour that held by BIPA (Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing) and also collaborated with OIA (Office of International Affairs) UNESA. The tour started at 09.00 a.m.  There are three places that students visited this time. First, we visited Surabaya Zoo, the most popular zoo in Surabaya. Surabaya Zoo also becomes the biggest zoo in Southeast Asia that has more than 2,000 animals. The students felt enjoy to saw various kinds of animal in this zoo, such as mammals, birds, reptiles, etc. Not only saw and interacted with the animals, they also memorized and tried to understanding every animal’s name to improve their Indonesian language skill. The fresh air and not really crowded situation made us comfortable in exploring this zoo. We strolled around this zoo for two hours. 

    Then, our next destination is Alun-Alun Surabaya. From the Surabaya Zoo, it took about ten minutes to went to Alun-Alun Surabaya. This place is also the part of Balai Pemuda, the tourism center and also one of the historical buildings in Surabaya. Before we went to the Alun-Alun Surabaya, we filled our energy by bought friend chicken for our lunch. After having lunch, we visited the basement part of Alun-Alun Surabaya. In this place, there is an art exhibition. It has the many paintings and installation art in this place. Moreover, we also saw the paintings demonstration by one of the painter. We enjoyed every wonderful paintings and artworks and also took some pictures there. Most of the artworks are done by the local artists.

    Our last destionation is Tugu Pahlawan (Heroes Monument). It took about 4 km a trip by car. This place becomes the symbol of Surabaya people’s struggles, especially against the invaders. We learned about Indonesian (especially Surabaya) history and the heroes from Surabaya especially who fight in Battle of Surabaya in 1945. After we saw the monuments, we went into the 10 Nopember Museum. In this museum, there are a lot of weapon collections, war equipment, paintings, relief, Surabaya hero’s belongings (such as Bung Tomo’s Car), photographs, and diorama scenes. So, have you visited those places before ? What is your favorite spot/place in Surabaya ? Let’s share !

Culture Class with KNB Students in BIPA

    KNB students attended a culture class with Pak Agung, a lecturer in BIPA class. They learn how to cook Indonesian traditional snacks. The purpose of this activity is to introduce KNB students about what snacks are often consumed by Indonesian people. This activity was assisted by 4 students of JBSI (Department of Indonesian Language and Literature).

    There are 3 menus to be cooked, namely fruit salad (rujak buah), tempe mendoan, and mud cake (kue lumpur). The day before cooking activity in the culture class, KNB students were invited to shop at the Puncak Darmo Modern Market to buy ingredients. They learn how to transact and interact in the market with sellers directly. The cooking activity was divided into two teams, the first team by Metty with a fruit salad (rujak buah) menu, and the second team by Isata with a mud cake (kue lumpur) menu. As for the tempe mendoan cooked together.

    This is of course interesting because the KNB students are trying to cook traditional Indonesian snacks for the first time. They enthusiastically participated in the activities in the culture class until the end. Metty and Isata said that the fruit salad suited their taste.