Details

• Indonesia
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

The application process overall is quite simple and straightforward. It is important to note that UGM often did take quite some time to respond throughout the entire stay, so it's important to submit all the needed documents as soon as possible. The uni helped with the visa application, which was really helpful, but it did take quite a time and was pretty costly. Overall the climate in Yogyakarta is quite different from Vienna so I'd recommend everyone to do some research ahead of exchange. While it is mostly hot and humid, the more mountainous regions tend to be significantly colder so if you're planning to do some hikes up volcanos, maybe pack some warmer stuff also. Vaccines are also quite a big expense that shouldn't be underestimated - takes quite some time and is pretty expensive. I went to the Tropeninstitut, they were really helpful and gave me important advice on all the regions I was planning to visit. Otherwise Jogja has a lot of different shopping malls, so there's no need to bring everything from back home, as there's plenty of options to buy stuff. But there's a couple things that are quite hard to find from my experience: tampons, curly hair products and good sunscreen. It's also really helpful to join all the WhatsApp groups to connect to people, get infos on events and overall tips if needed. On the topic of clothing at FEB there's a dress code of long pants, and shirts with collars - while some professors aren't as strict, some take it quite seriously so be aware of that.

2. Accommodation

Similar to all previous reports I contacted Ganda, and had an accommodation secured a couple hours after. There's no contract just some WhatsApp exchange, which at first I was a bit skeptical about but quickly learned is totally normal and common in Indonesia, and extremely efficient and fast! I was in a villa (Onto 2) with 12 other exchange students, in the north of jogja with a common kitchen and a pool. I do have to say that I got the accommodation pretty early on but it was definitely not one of the best houses. Overall from my experience I would avoid: .... and stay at: ..... As already mentioned my house was in north Jogja, close to a lot of different student houses. Every room had its own bathroom attacked to a pretty spacious bedroom. The region overall is ok I'd say, it's around 15 minutes away from the uni on a scooter, depending on traffic and is overall pretty quiet. Safety wise I've never felt unsafe in Yogya, actually I've never felt unsafe anywhere in Indonesia. While overall Jogja is not very walkable, the area had some smaller and quiter roads where it was pretty nice to go for a walk/run. I think for the beginning its quite nice to stay in one of Ganda's houses to get to know a lot of different people, but there's definitely nicer places especially in the south for the same price.

3. Academic life at host university

Overall University culture is quite different from Austria. It's quite laid back and spontaneous to a degree that sometimes was quite stressful. On a few occasions lectures where canceled very spontaneously and rescheduled to a completely different day, often with very little notice before, so be aware of that if you're planning trips, as there's a 75% attendance minimum at all classes in order to pass as far as I'm concerned. The campus is quite big and there's really great food in the cafeteria of FEB as well as Fisipol.

5. Every day life in the host country

Jogja has some public transport but the only thing I did use was the train from the center to the airport and back, which was pretty fast, so definitely recommend. Otherwise there's grab and gojek to get around, but I'd say that to rent a scooter is by far the easiest and best way to get around the city. The train system in Java is pretty good, as well as buses going in between cities. Regarding safety as already mentioned I always felt safe. The political situation in Indonesia overall though is pretty tense, as people are quite unhappy with the government and its corruption. It's important to note that we were told that we could not take part in any type of protests, so keep that in mind. There's a lot of events happening in Jogja from music/film festivals to sport events. All of this is often communicated in the WhatsApp groups. I definitely recommend to go to a football game! Otherwise there's a lot of sport options from the uni but also outside of it with many different sports to try. Cafe culture is quite big in Jogja and there's so many nice ones to try all around the city. Overall there's a couple of clubs/bars that most students go to so not a lot to choose from but they tend to be pretty fun, and it's a great place to meet other students. I'd say that in regards to leisure time a lot of exchange students spend it with traveling around. There's typical places like: Bali, Lombok, East Java that almost everyone visits. I'd also definitely recommend Bandung, Karimun Java and West Papua!

6. Testimonial

I went to Jogja without really knowing what to expect from Indonesia, but it turned out to be one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The people are unbelievably kind, the culture and food are incredible, the landscapes are stunning, and every place feels entirely unique. Indonesia is so diverse, and you feel that with every new destination. Jogja itself is an amazing place, and seeing the world through such a different perspective was extremely interesting and deeply refreshing.