Papuan students at Humber

Humber hosts scholarship students from Indonesia’s Papua province

May 2, 2019

In 2013, the government of Indonesia’s Papua province created a scholarship program that would send more than 1,000 Papuan students to pursue degrees in western countries. Humber College was selected as the only Canadian host institution, welcoming 35 Papuan students into the Humber community over the last few years, with the first ones set to graduate this year.

The program aims to empower Papuan scholarship recipients with knowledge and skills that can be transferred home to contribute to Papua’s future growth and development. Being selected as a host is a compliment to the Humber community’s openness and global mindedness and brings valuable international experience into our campuses.

Big challenges and inspiring success

For students from remote areas of Papua province, making the leap to study in Canada comes with significant challenges. "Being a scholarship recipient is tough,” says Papuan student Roni M. Kiwo, “the world is changing; it’s more global, more modern and more competitive. The experience of studying at Humber will definitely assist us in reaching our career goals."

The Humber community has excelled at mobilizing its resources to welcome the Papuan students and help them adapt to a new culture, language and academic system. After completing the English for Academic Purposes certificate, the students are going on to successfully complete diplomas or degrees in areas such as engineering, hospitality, IT and business.

“I am very proud of the Papuan students who have shown their determination and strong commitment to study in Toronto despite of the challenges of studying abroad”, says Anthony Mirin, Head of Human Resource Increasing and Competitiveness Division, Special Autonomy Bureau, Provincial Government of Papua. “Their hard work towards reaching their goals undoubtedly will bring benefits to Papua in the years to come.”

Maximizing global learning opportunities at home

Humber collaborates with a number of academic and government partners in Indonesia, such as SEDS, and shares our expertise and helps build new capacities, in education and entrepreneurship curriculum development.

Projects like the Papua scholarship program help us strengthen our international relationships while building new collaborations and new learning opportunities—internationally and locally.

As we welcome students from around the world to our campuses, and help them achieve their goals we, in turn, generate international experiences for our community. These experiences help our students, faculty and staff develop intercultural skills, gain international understanding and perspectives, and be better prepared to be globally-minded leaders in their fields.  

We look forward to sharing more updates and successes from the Papuan scholarship program. In the meanwhile, learn more about Humber-Indonesia collaboration and the recently completed the Sulawesi Economic Development Project (SEDS).