Exchange programme in UGM, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
This post covers the experience on an exchange programme between SMU-UGM in Yogyakarta (or Jogja) for 3 weeks. All views are the authors and not related to the exchange organizers SMU, UGM and NYC.
where is yogyakarta?
How to apply / what is this programme?
It’s a short Winter Exchange Programme that runs for around 2-3 weeks. The same programme exists in the Summer Exchange too. It is hosted jointly by Singapore Management University (SMU) and Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), and National Youth Council (NYC).
The application went through the NYC’s application portal. You can sign up for the AEP (Asia-Youth Exposure Programme) which opens up Southeast Asia trips to youths aged 18-35 to partner universities in Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, just to name a few. There are also many AEP Programmes you can sign up for which change yearly.
Some students also signed up through their school, and since it is offered by SMU, the programme has a majority of SMU students.
When you go to class (since it’s an exchange programme), you will meet the UGM students who are also part of the programme!
screenshot of the AEP site from the NYC website
There is a grant, given out by NYC and Temasek Foundation. You will claim this later and it should be reimbursed to you, to a maximum of $1000 (disclaimer: this was based on Academic Year 2022).
What we did there (brief overview)
Before the trip
You will be briefed on your lodging, flight and any other administrative things. The group met and flew off to Yogya together. The admin part was mostly easy to settle, with the only thing you needed to ensure was really the screenshots of all your payments for flight tickets so that you could get reimbursement quickly.
During the trip
Where we stayed: Malioboro Harper Hotel.
Great location, near everything, walkable distance from the shopping area and night markets
The service was impeccable and we were never lacking anything.
Breakfast was served everyday and there were many choices.
Rooms are clean and well maintained
What we did
In the day mostly we would attend lectures at Universitas Gadjah Mada, as it was a Winter Exchange Programme.
Once class was out by 4-5pm on most days and some days a little earlier at 2-3pm, you were free to do whatever you wished. On weekends we travelled to company visits and tourist sites.
Here are the highlights - activities we did and places we went to over the course of the exchange:
Company Visit: Tegel Kunci
It was a great experience to hear about the company’s history and how they have been passing it down for generations. Tegel Kunci makes tiles from scratch, and we got a chance to see the entire factory and watch how they made the moulds and then pour all the cement into each individual segment of the tile.We had a factory tour and got to see and take videos of every part of the process!
Mount Merapi and the House of Memory
This was honestly a very sad trip. It felt like a rollercoaster ride. It started with a trip to Mount Merapi where we got to see the volcano (not so up close and not personal but I’d rather be far away). We saw the bunker where people were trapped during the most recent eruption. Later, we headed to the House of Memory, a location which was someone’s house which got flattened during the eruption. It was later rebuilt to commemorate and remember the lives of those which were lost. At the end, we had an experience which was quite a different mood really, in which we got into tractors and drove around the puddles of volcanic water. It was fun and our driver was really fun and adventurous.
Day train trip to Solo
We had a really fun adventure where we just literally ran for the train and were late both there and back! You take the train toward Solo, the last stop and had a good time eating and walking around the Pasar and the parks. Tip: reach the train station at least 10-15 minutes before the last train (6.10pm), attempt to not run for it, you may not reach on time and there is no other train till the next morning.
Batik Painting Workshop
Got our hands waxed, literally, as we spent time trying to draw squiggles on lovely batik designed cloth. Gotta say we reaaaaaaallly tried, and some of us did worst than others (oops). In the end you get to watch it dye and dry and take it home with you!
Adventures at Bumi Langit Institute
Bumi Langit was amazing. We drove out of the city and onto this beautiful place. It’s a place where this man runs a school that teaches farmers how to use their existing resources to create a vertical system of farming. The land was flattened sadly during the volcanic eruption but the owner rebuilt the entire place and runs the location as a teaching facility. There was so much to learn as he explained all the procedures to us. We went there a little late which explains why we got barely any pictures. It was a lovely experience that ended with a home cooked dinner at the place.
Tebing Breksi
Our friends took us up this small cliff / hill we climbed on for such gorgeous views of the city. Totally worth the journey! Sunset was beautiful, too.
Cafe hopping! and all the food I ate
Other Honorable Mentions
Dowa Bag Company Visit
Sonobudoyo Museum
Reflections
The trip was very fun, I really enjoyed myself. I chose to spend time with my exchange friends instead of the people on my trip because I wanted to explore some less touristy sites, and I didn’t feel very much like I wanted to do Haidilao hotpots and whatever things like these. I am sure the malls were fun but to me, when I was with friends who are locals, it is the best time to explore all the places I would never get to go on my own. I met and made such great friends, the trip was worth it because of them. The classes were not anything I really understood, though, because it was quite economics and business-centric, but I did appreciate the experience much. The organizers did a fantastic job and I would highly recommend this trip to anyone looking to go to a Southeast Asian country for Exchange.
