THE UTILIZATION OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN THE INTERCULTURAL ADJUSTMENT EXPERIENCES AMONG IISMA STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37231/apj.2025.8.SI1.806Abstract
The Indonesia International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) is one of the schemes under Kampus Merdeka Program initiated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of Indonesia , designed to enhance students’ global exposure by enabling them to study abroad. IISMA awardee will have pre-departure preparation that leads to different adjustment experience. Pre-departure, departure and adjustment experiences will expose students to a circumstance whereby they can utilize digital media to seek information and deal with intercultural challenges during the program. This study explores how IISMA awardees in Malaysia navigate their intercultural adjustment, with particular focus on the role of digital media. A qualitative approach was used, involving in-depth interviews with selected IISMA participants studying at universities in Malaysia. Informants reflected on their experiences across the pre-departure, arrival, and adaptation phases, highlighting digital media’s role in information-seeking, expectation management, and emotional support. Findings show that digital media played a key role for students to connect with peers, access cultural knowledge, and manage sociocultural and psychological challenges. However, variations in digital media literacy and prior international exposure affected how effectively these media were used. The study concludes that digital media supports intercultural adaptation but underscores the need for structured pre-departure preparation.
Keywords: Digital Media; Intercultural Communication; Interaction; Adjustment; IISMA
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