A MINDANAO State University-Iligan Institute of Technology student made it to the international students’ summer program of Disaster Research, Community Empowerment, and Microeconomics (DREaM) of the Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Kyla Marie Ibarra, a third-year BA Political Science major, became the first student from MSU-IIT to be accepted in the DREaM-UGM.

Ibarra is also current Mayor of the school’s Political Science Society.

Unlike in the past when it was designed to have international students stay on UGM campus and attend classes, this time the DREaM will be conducted virtually over the course of four Fridays from November to December revolving around the theme ‘Resilience Amidst Global Pandemic’.

Ibarra, an aspiring future public servant, believes that one should always grab every learning opportunity especially on policy-making and strategic planning in order to be well-equipped in the future.

“I believe there is no shortcut to becoming a genuine leader of a community and an effective member of society. We must learn as much as we could and develop our skills and abilities so that we may take part in the global effort to make this world a better place,” she said.

Ibarra looks forward of learning from international speakers and experts on how to best address the current realities of life.

“Plans have been halted due to the pandemic and we feel uncertain and anxious. However, the crisis will not take away my persistent desire to be part of a generation committed to bringing meaningful change,” she said.

The international students’ summer program has been running since 2009 and already attended by 465 students from 25 countries all over the world.

UGM is one of the oldest and largest higher education institutions in Indonesia, and was ranked 254 in the 2021 QS World Universities Rankings.