It has been one full odd semester of 2023-2024, Archipelago students studying at Hayam Wuruk Perbanas University and getting to know the regional culture of East Java. A lot of new knowledge and experiences were gained through the Batch 3 Merdeka Student Exchange Program (PMM) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology. 

A total of 35 students from 19 universities in Indonesia participated in various academic and non-academic activities. For academic activities, they attended lectures as programmed and recognized from their home campuses. The challenge is that all archipelago students must follow the rules and culture applied by Hayam Wuruk Perbanas University. 

As stated by the UHW Perbanas PMM Coordinator, Titis Puspitaningrum Kartika Sari, S.Pd., M.SA., that the majority of children are surprised by lectures in the morning shift at 06.15 WIB. "At first they were surprised because they were not used to it. Over time, they can also follow and get used to it," Titis explained on the sidelines of the PMM Batch 3 Student Release Cultural Festival, Saturday (20/1).

In addition to lectures, he continued, the students from various regions participated in the Nusantara Module. We divided them into two teams, Team Suro and Team Boyo. Each team was accompanied by UHW Perbanas lecturers to follow the introduction of culture. 

"We present Ludruk cultural actors in Surabaya so that they know firsthand one of the cultural arts in the city of Surabaya, East Java," she added.
As for social action, the PMM Batch 3 students went directly to plant mangrove trees at Wonorejo Mangrove Tourism. In addition, they also took part in a joint action with Garda Pangan and taught kindergarten in one of the cities in East Java.
"We want them to be memorable and have good memories during PMM activities. Just like the jargon, Temporary Exchange Means Forever," he hoped. 

At the end of the release activity, the archipelago students displayed the cultural diversity of their respective regions. Packaged in a Cultural Festival, they performed 4 regional dances and songs. Everything is purely the idea of the archipelago students so that everyone loves the regional culture that Indonesia has. (eko/PR)