"We hope that foreign students present here will become partners with Indonesian students and learn about each other's cultures. The presence of foreign students here is an important effort to improve human resources to become globally competitive," he noted in a statement received here on Sunday.
The KNB Scholarship is given to students coming from developing countries that have bilateral relations with Indonesia and are keen to study at the best universities in Indonesia.
The scholarship, which has been running since 2006, offers full funding for undergraduate (S-1), master (S-2), and doctoral (S-3) programs.
Makarim said the goal of this program is to provide opportunities for friendly countries to get quality education in Indonesia, especially through various Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (Freedom in Learning, Freedom in Campus or MBKM) programs.
He expressed hope that the KNB Scholarship program would result in a different learning climate for college students in Indonesia, the implementation of cultural exchanges, and diverse interactions.
Director of Institutions at the ministry's Directorate General of Higher Education, Research and Technology, Lukman, stated that the number of KNB Scholarship recipients will be doubled in order to improve the global competitiveness of students of Indonesia and friendly countries.
"This year, we accepted over 200 students for the KNB program. Next year, we will increase the scholarship recipients to 400 students from all over the world," he remarked.
Director General of Public Information and Diplomacy of the Foreign Ministry, Siti Nugraha Mauludiah, explained that the KNB Scholarship is part of Indonesia's soft diplomacy with fellow developing countries and partner countries.
"KNB recipients need to make good use of this program because this is your investment," she stated.
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Translator: Astrid H, Kenzu
Editor: Sri Haryati
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