It is necessary to develop academic skills to provide an initial overview for UII Communication students, especially international class students at the International Program of Communication (IPC) at the Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII). The IPC UII program manager is holding a Welcoming Day Seminar with this year’s name, Academic and Skill Study. Creative and Adaptive Youth is the theme chosen for this year’s Welcoming Day event. This event was held on November 10, 2022. 

There were three materials presented on this occasion. Ida Nuraini Dewi Kodrat Ningsih, secretary of IP Communication UII, spoke and introduced IPC since its establishment in 2018. Then Masduki, a Communication Regulation research cluster specialist, shared about academic writing techniques. Then Herman Felani became the facilitator with his presentation theme University Life Adaptation. The three UII Communication Lecturers are experts in the International Program of Communication.

At this event, Ida further conveyed the learning curriculum design at IPC UII. Ida explained that IPC UII has four major areas of interest which are of great interest to students based on the latest survey. The four areas of interest are Public Relations, Journalism, Media Studies, and Creative Media. Each of them has several courses that must be followed and several courses that are chosen according to student interests.

The total credit that students must exceed is 144 credits (credits) which, after calculation, normally takes eight semesters or four years of the study period. Each semester, students will complete 20-24 credits. In 1 course, there will be 2 to 3 credits, which means that in 1-semester, students will complete 6 to 8 classes.

Then how is the course passed? Ida explained that Students would carry out UII learning at IPC with an emphasis on active student participation. “So there will be lots of discussions and active participation of students in the lecture process,” explained Ida.

What are the Skill development activities?

Students’ development of student abilities and skills is the activity most in demand. Apart from providing a laboratory to facilitate student skill development, IPC also organizes academic and soft skill development activities. Some of what has been carried out include the English Skill Development program, International Internship, International Program Activities, Future Global carrier, and capacity building program. In addition, academic activities are also often carried out regularly. For example, the Annual Workshop on Globalization, a talk show entitled Teatime: an afternoon sharing with IPC UII, and Passage to ASEAN.

Being a student means preparing yourself with various campus habits. One of the skills that students must have is writing academically. Because when someone has a student status, he will often meet multiple references such as journals, books, reports, scientific papers, essays, and others.

In the welcoming event for International Class Students (International Program) of Communication at the Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII), Masduki, a doctor and lecturer from the UII Communication Department, shared and introduced the world of writing in the academic space. He delivered his material entitled “Basic Academic Writing in Higher Education” or Basic Academic Writing for Higher Education. The welcoming of new students to the International Program class, held in the Audiovisual Room FPSB UII, was held on Monday, 10 November 2022, with the theme “Creative and Adaptive Youth.”

In presenting his material, Masduki compared academic writing with traveling writing. He gave an example by opening two sites with the keyword ‘Borobudur.’ One article is entitled “How to visit Borobudur in Indonesia.” While the second article is entitled “World History Encyclopedia: Borobudur.” Masduki invited students to learn more about academic writing.

Academic Writing Characteristic

Some important characteristics of academic writing are formal, analytical, clear, concise, accurate, objective, precise, and critical. The process of academic writing also takes significant effort, such as long analytical processes, observations, managing ideas, and presenting illustrations related to certain themes, so they are easy to understand. In addition, an important characteristic of academic scientific writing is its critical and precise nature. Precision means writing based on accurate data and information. Frequently, in academic writing, writers use literary, scientific terms. In this case, Masduki suggests using words that are often used daily. But if forced to use academic scientific words that lay people do not commonly understand, the writer must explain, “Explain specialized words if they can’t be avoided,” said Masduki.

Before closing the material, Masduki asked the participants to practice writing short paragraphs, both academic and non-academic. Participants were trained to be able to write short sentences. “Make sure you write short sentences. That means sentences are under 20 words,” explained Masduki.

We often hear advice not to stay in our comfort zone for too long. Especially if we want to be successful and have a lot of experience. But what is the comfort zone, and how do you get out of it?

The Teatime event by IPC invited one of the students of International Communication Studies at the Universitas Islam Indonesia (IPC UII), Faradisa Djasmine Anderson, to talk about his world with its various achievements and busy activities. The teatime this time is Friday, May 18, 2022, entitled Life of a Student and Regional Ambassador, who will have a relaxed conversation with the girl who is affectionately called Disa.

Tips for Getting Out of the Comfort Zone

of Busyness Disa in the world of tourism as an Indonesian Youth Ambassador for Central Java tourism 2022 began with her passion for the world of modeling. The world She has been in since she was a teenager. She feels his world is fun and boring at the same time. “I feel like my world is just the way it is. I feel stuck,” said Disa.

“I felt I had to try something new,” said Disa, telling his story then. Disa then tried his luck by registering as the Kebumen Tourism Ambassador and passed. “For me, trying new things is like a challenge,” She continued.

“Choosing to try new things is not because I feel I am talented, not because I can. But because I feel like this is something I’ve never tried before,” She explained.

According to Disa, when trying new things, keep trying. We are still determining whether we will fail or succeed. “Don’t think about it. Just try it,” Disa invites, motivating people afraid to try new things. 

Be smart about time

Disa has a busy schedule. She works and studies simultaneously. Apart from conducting educational activities and dedicating her time and knowledge to the advancement of tourism in Java In the middle, Disa also has to study and do a lot of college assignments: “I always have a note to do list on my smartphone. I have to calculate when this activity should be done, what’s today’s activity, and what’s tomorrow.” This is to save time.

“I don’t want to waste today’s opportunity. As long as I can, I have to do it today,” said Disa.