The International Student Conference (ISC) is an annual event held by Parahyangan Catholic University which serves as a platform for international students from all over the world

One of the members of the International Network of Universities, Parahyangan Catholic University (Indonesia), has held the 11th International Student Conference (ISC) entitled “Empowering Youth and Local Voices for Human-Centric, Sustainable and Inclusive Smart Cities”. The aim of the conference was to increase the impact of youth-led initiatives and to unlock the potential of cities as hubs for sustainable solutions. For almost a week, from 22 to 27 January, students and speakers from all around the world took part in a wide range of activities, which included an introduction to the Indonesian language and culture, workshops and lectures. Four students and two professors from the URV took part in this year’s conference.

The first three days consisted of an initial lecture followed by a workshop and a couple of cultural activities. Two lecturers from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Ferran Mañé Vernet from the Department of Economics and Sergio Nasarre Aznar from the Department of Private Law, took active part in the conference and played a major role on the second day.

Nasarre gave a lecture on how to make housing more affordable so that cities could be more inclusive, and a workshop entitled “What happens when housing policies fail: experiencing homelessness”. And Mañé hosted a workshop called “Early school-leaving response from the local government and the community”.

Four URV students also attended the conference. Nil Munté, Marouane Laabbas, Ceyda Yapucu and Mireia Mei joined the other international students and enjoyed the lectures, the workshops and the cultural activities. These activities included tari mojang priangan, tumpeng cutting, learning traditional dances, playing traditional instruments and practising Bahasa (Indonesian) with fun games.

The subsequent days mainly involved trips and visits to Balaikota Bandung, the river filtration system and the Dewi Sartika Garden, Cibunut village, Buruan Sae and Rumah Batik Kamar among others, where the students not only enjoyed the views and the walks but also engaged in other activities such as planting trees, making Batik (dyed cloth) and producing traditional ice cream. Altogether it was a perfect combination of learning, fun and unforgettable experiences.