Foreign Interest to Study in Indonesia Increases yet Constrained by Visa Bureaucratic Procedure

by Jhanghiz Syahrivar Indonesia was the 18th richest country in the world based on the data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2010 and the country is the member of the G-20 which is a group of 19 countries with the world's major economies plus the European Union. Moreover, according to the data provided by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2010, Indonesia was also the 27th largest exporting country in the world. With a population of 240 million people (the 4th most populous country in the world) combined with massive land and sea area of 5 million km2 (the 15th largest country in the world), Indonesia is expected to become the 8th richest country in the upcoming 20 years. To increase foreign reserves every year, Indonesia is not only boosting its export activities but also enhancing the role of its tourism sector in attracting more foreign tourists coming to Indonesia. This became evident when the government initiated the change of Indonesias last year tourism slogan "Visit Indonesia", which was considered less selling by many, to "Wonderful Indonesia" this year. Not less than Rp. 60 Billion was spent by Indonesian Tourism Ministry to build 567 new rural tourism infrastructures. Despite the relentless efforts and huge funds to increase the foreign reserves and improve Indonesia's image internationally, there are still other potential sectors that could be cultivated to bring in foreign reserves, such as the education sector. Have a look at Malaysia which successfully brings in foreign reserves from their education sector. From recent reports, the number of foreign students who study in the country has increased exponentially from 54,474 foreign students in 2009 to 75,819 foreign students in 2011. Based on the information issued by the Embassy of Kuala Lumpur, the number of Indonesian students who are currently studying in Malaysia has reached 14 thousand students. One can imagine millions of Ringgit profits earned by the Malaysian government each year from the education sector alone. Indonesia could also bring in foreign reserves like neighboring countries, Malaysia and Singapore, did given the quality of education, particularly tertiary education, in Indonesia is not inferior to those two countries. Besides, by giving more opportunities for foreign students to study in Indonesia, Indonesian students can be benefited trough cultural exchanges among

countries and expanding networks and connections. Moreover, Indonesia can improve its image as one of conducive and safe study destinations in South East Asia. President University is one of few top universities in Indonesia that actively attracts foreign students to study in Indonesia. The University, founded by Prof. Dr.Juwono Sudarsono, S.D. Darmono, and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as honorary advisor, provides a cultural exchange program that recently attracted a bunch of college students from Iowa State University of America to stay and learn the cultures and heritages of Indonesia. As one of few international standard universities with the largest number of foreign students, President University also actively promotes itself abroad to attract students from China, Vietnam, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and many others to study in Indonesia. The management of the University guarantees that the quality of education being taught in the University is not inferior to the educational quality in neighboring countries. President University is among eight universities in Indonesia listed in Nuffic NESO (Netherlands Education Support Office) as a university with international standard of higher education in Indonesia. The University gains its prominence in local and international societies for being able to align the theory and practical learning effectively. No wonder the Universitys graduates are highly sought after by many national and multinational companies in Indonesia and abroad. Attracting foreign students are not easy as this must be supported by the efforts and commitments from Indonesian government and embassies abroad to promote some best universities in Indonesia, particularly the universities with international standard of higher education which implement English as their primary language of instruction. The government should also be able to simplify the process for obtaining visas and limited stay permit cards as this is one of Malaysia's keys of success in recruiting foreign students. Meanwhile, universities in Indonesia can help by offering and promoting academic and non-academic uniqueness in order to attract foreign students to study in Indonesia.