Target country
Indonesia

Participants
15 CZU students

Partner university
Del Institute of Technology

Guarantor of Summer school
prof. Ing. David Herák,Ph.D.

Arrival and life at the local university
For most students, this is their first encounter with Indonesia and Asia in general. Their first experience comes on their first trip, as they face a 7-hour bus ride to the Del Institute of Technology, 215 km away.

Upon arrival at the university, they are surprised by the weather, with the temperature showing a pleasant 20°C and the humidity not too different from what they know from the Czech Republic.

After waking up, the students have their first day in a new environment. They go through the opening ceremony, which is carefully planned minute by minute. After getting acquainted with the strict rules at the university, students get acquainted with everyday life at the university. Then the summer school programme can get underway.

Getting to know Indonesia
The system of organizing the summer school, where students get to know Indonesia through "field trips", is to be appreciated. These are educational trips designed to experience Indonesia first-hand rather than from a desk in a classroom. On the very first evening, they go to a floating café on the shores of Lake Toba - the largest in Southeast Asia. From here they have a spectacular view with swimming and plenty of drinks made from fresh fruit grown in Sumatra. The next day they head to a local photographer of famous or successful people from the people of Indonesia and the Batak Museum. Here they learn all about the local rich culture of the Batak tribe, which is native to the Lake Toba area. A surprise for everyone was a farmer who moved to Indonesia all the way from Alaska and teaches the local people how to farm.

Coffee factories are very popular educational tours with all grades of summer school students. First, the company that supplies coffee to Starbucks is introduced. This is followed by a second company that produces civet coffee - one of the most expensive and highest quality coffees in the world. The day was rounded off with a dinner with politicians from the local region.

The following week included tours to a company that produces paper from local trees called Pulp Lestari. The last company visited processes a local crop called tapioca. This is used to make a local equivalent of our wheat flour. 

Student projects
Each student worked on a project in collaboration with local farmers or companies they met during the above-mentioned discovery tours. The purpose of these projects is to help local farmers and companies apply some basic practices used in the western world. This mutual cooperation allows the students to gain new experiences and to learn even more about the workings of everyday life in Indonesia. Many students will use their findings from their projects in their undergraduate or graduate theses.