Two students from Diponegoro University’s Applied Foreign Languages Study Program, Faiza Latifa Khairunnisa from the English concentration and Nopa Yulianti from the Japanese concentration, successfully broadened their academic and professional experiences through an international internship program at the Hotel Gora Hanaougi: Madoka no Mori, a five-star luxury ryokan located in Gora, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The internship program lasted one year, from April 2025 to April 2026.
Both students successfully passed the selection and interview process for the international internship program, which provides students with the opportunity to gain hands-on work experience in the Japanese hospitality industry. This program is part of Diponegoro University’s efforts to encourage students to develop global competencies, strengthen their foreign language skills, particularly Japanese, and understand a cross-cultural work ethic.
Despite being from the English concentration, Faiza Latifa Khairunnisa demonstrated excellent adaptability to a work environment that is entirely Japanese.
“Even though I’m majoring in English, I feel proud and challenged to work in an environment where Japanese is spoken every day,” said Faiza.
Meanwhile, Nopa Yulianti, a Japanese Language major, had the opportunity to apply the knowledge she’d learned in class to a hands-on work experience in Japan.
“This experience is very meaningful for me because it gives me the opportunity to apply the knowledge I learned in the classroom to the real world of work,” said Nopa.
During their internship, Faiza and Nopa will be involved in various hotel operational activities, from guest service and daily management to managing Japanese culture-based services. This experience not only hones their language skills but also instills the values of discipline, responsibility, and professionalism that are characteristic of the Japanese workplace.
Through this program, it is hoped that both students will take home valuable experience that will be essential for building international careers and contributing to the professional field in Indonesia.