Prof. Nasih dons a graduation jacket to a representative of new students | source: Unair News
UNAIR NEWS – This year's inauguration ceremony for Universitas Airlangga students was unusual. Due to the pandemic, for the first time, the inauguration of 6,875 new students was conducted online.
Universitas Airlangga Rector Prof. Moh Nasih inaugurated the new undergraduate and diploma students on Tuesday (September 1, 2020). They are new students for the 2020/2021 academic year.
The 6,875 new students admitted in Batch 1 come from various regions across Indonesia. Among the most remote are Banda Aceh, Tarakan, Ternate, Jayapura, the Sitaro Islands, and Belu.
The UNAIR Rector stated that UNAIR's new student intake capacity for 2020 is 7,225. This capacity will be fully filled through Batch 2.
"There are 1,126 students who are holders of the Indonesia Smart Card for College (KIP-K)," said the Chancellor.
In 2020, UNAIR's KIP-K quota reached 1,400 students. The largest KIP-K intake this year came from the independent pathway, reaching over 500 students.
Among the confirmed students, Gusti Bazilia Callysta Dzakwan is the youngest new student at 15 years old. The girl, born on January 5, 2005, was accepted into the English Literature study program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB).
For the D3 Nursing study program in Gresik and Lamongan, 99 percent are KIP-K holders. The Rector stated that this is part of an effort to provide opportunities for the best students to study at UNAIR.
Meanwhile, for students who have not re-registered due to financial reasons, UNAIR is providing an opportunity to extend re-registration.
"We hope that parents and students experiencing any difficulties will contact us. We will facilitate this," said the Chancellor.
At the inauguration of the new students, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Airlangga Hartarto delivered a speech online. He urged the new students to start living independently.
On that occasion, Airlagga Hartarto gave a message for new students to take part in extracurricular activities because these activities will hone their soft skills.
"For college students, the early years of college are a time of transition. The environment will be very different from high school. Therefore, you must be independent," he said.
Airlangga Hartarto also offered a message of encouragement, explaining that the current struggle is even more difficult due to the ongoing pandemic. The coronavirus, for which there is no vaccine yet, has forced us to conduct our studies online. (*)
Author: Binti Q. Masruroh