13 June 2025
Fenny Julistine Tarigan
AIESEC in Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU), an international youth organization, officially met with the Directorate of Educational Development at USU on Thursday, June 12, 2025, to propose a formal collaboration. The meeting was attended by the Director of Educational Development, Ir. Ikhsan Siregar, ST., M.Eng., Ph.D., along with Mahatir Muhammad, S.Farm., M.Si., Apt., Manager of Education Research and Development, Prof. Dr. Arida Susilowati, S.Hut., M.Si., Manager of Global Partnerships, and representatives from AIESEC USU.
The purpose of this meeting was to present AIESEC’s flagship program, Global Volunteer, and to discuss the potential collaboration to support academic credit conversion (SKS) for students participating in the program. The Global Volunteer program allows students to engage in social projects abroad that focus on global issues such as education, health, and community development, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) principles.
During the session, AIESEC USU highlighted the positive impact of the Global Volunteer program, emphasizing its alignment with the Merdeka Belajar–Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) policy. Through international volunteering experiences, students can earn academic credits and develop valuable soft skills such as leadership, time management, and cross-cultural communication.
The Director of Educational Development welcomed the proposed collaboration, noting that it has strong potential to broaden students’ global perspectives and improve the quality of graduates who are globally competitive. Both the Manager of Education Research and Development and the Manager of Global Partnerships contributed constructive input to ensure the collaboration is well-structured and sustainable.
AIESEC USU expressed its hope that the collaboration can be implemented soon and have a significant impact on enhancing student capacity at Universitas Sumatera Utara as future adaptive and globally competitive leaders.
