10.6.6 - Support for underrepresented groups

Provide mentoring, counselling, or peer support programmes to support students, staff, and faculty from underrepresented groups.

Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) is a postgraduate university whose community is international by design. In September 2025, 345 international students from 45 countries were studying at UIII, and 98 of the 190 new students admitted for 2025/2026 came from 28 countries. Many of these students come from low and lower-middle income countries or from places affected by conflict, such as Afghanistan. They study far from home while adjusting to a new language, culture and academic system. The table 1 lists the initiatives found on public UIII web pages. Initiative 8 serves students from partner Islamic boarding schools rather than UIII students, so it is presented as supplementary community mentoring.

Table 1: Summary of Mentoring, Counselling and Peer Support Initiatives

1. Counseling and Mental Health Services (CMHS)

UIII supports these groups through a connected system of counselling, mentoring and peer support. The Counseling and Mental Health Services (CMHS) offers individual and group counselling, psychoeducation and referrals, and is open to students, staff and faculty. Before students arrive, the Office for Student Affairs and International Services runs an online pre-departure session. On campus, new students join Orientation Week and Convocation, and international students can join Bahasa Indonesia classes, an academic writing workshop asantrnd confidential English consultation sessions. Faculties add academic mentoring such as the thesis writing camp. CMHS began a psychoeducation series in December 2025, and the series continued in 2026 with a Peer Counselor Training workshop.

The evidence meets all three THE criteria. Existence of provision: counselling, orientation, language mentoring and psychoeducation operated during 2025. Evidence provided: dates, participant numbers, speakers, completion and satisfaction rates, and posters are documented in Sections 2 and 3. Public availability: every initiative is described on a public UIII web page, listed in Section 4.

CMHS is the university unit for student, staff and faculty well-being. Its chair, Dr. Lukman Nul Hakim, describes its work as promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative. In practice, CMHS runs mental health campaigns, psychoeducation sessions and screenings, provides individual and group counselling, and refers people to external services when needed. Counselling takes place on the first and third floors of the Faculty A compound during working hours, and students, staff and faculty book appointments through the CMHS application. CMHS describes itself as a safe and inclusive space that respects differences in culture, gender and background, which matters for a community with students from dozens of countries.

The Counseling and Mental Health Services (CMHS) of UIII provides structured mental health support to all students, staff and faculty. Its work combines individual and group counseling, referral to external professionals when needed, and a psychoeducation programme that builds mental health literacy across campus. Counseling is offered in the Faculty A compound and can be booked through the CMHS websites, so support is easy to reach.

Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) delivers structured and confidential psychological support to all students, staff, and faculty through its Counseling and Mental Health Services (CMHS). The service provides an essential support mechanism for members of underrepresented groups, including international scholars from conflict-affected zones, low-income candidates, and non-traditional graduate learners, by actively lowering psychological and social barriers to academic success. CMHS combines individual and group counseling sessions, formal external referrals for specialized psychiatric care, and a continuous psychoeducation curriculum that enhances mental health literacy across the campus community. To maintain seamless accessibility, physical counseling sessions are hosted at the Faculty A compound, while digital appointment scheduling is facilitated directly through a dedicated online application.

To ensure that support mechanisms are fully transparent and publicly communicated, CMHS actively promotes its ongoing initiatives across official institutional platforms. Detailed program structures, professional standards, and direct booking portals are publicly accessible on the official website at https://cmhs.uiii.ac.id/. Furthermore, CMHS maintains continuous public outreach and student engagement through its official Instagram page as social media outreach at https://www.instagram.com/uiii_cmhs/. On this public channel, the university regularly broadcasts psychoeducation workshops, mental health first aid training, academic stress prevention modules, peer counselor programs, and scheduled group support sessions. This multi-channel public dissemination guarantees that information regarding free and accessible mental health support is widely available to all civitas academica from the very beginning of their academic journey at UIII.

2. CMHS session closing Orientation Week 2025

UIII news publication introducing the Counseling and Mental Health Services (CMHS) on September 23, 2025: https://uiii.ac.id/meet-the-guardians-of-wellbeing-at-uiii-introducing-the-counseling-and-mental-health-services-cmhs/

CMHS actively integrates its counseling, mental health services, and peer support systems into the early onboarding process for new students to lower emotional barriers and promote mental health awareness from day one. On 19 September 2025, CMHS closed Orientation Week 2025 with a dedicated mental health orientation session led by Dr. Lukman Nul Hakim and Assoc. Prof. Charyna Ayu Rizkyanti from the Faculty of Education. Addressing the incoming postgraduate cohort, Dr. Hakim emphasized that seeking psychological help is an act of courage rather than a sign of weakness, while Assoc. Prof. Rizkyanti reminded students that no one has to navigate postgraduate pressure, isolation, or personal struggles alone. Introducing psychological services during orientation ensures that newly arrived international scholars, students from low-income or conflict-affected regions, and non-traditional graduate learners are immediately aware of accessible support mechanisms at the exact moment they are most vulnerable to isolation and cultural transition challenges.

To maintain complete transparency and widespread outreach across the university community, full details of this orientation session and ongoing CMHS provisions are published openly on the university's news portal. The public release highlights the core operational pillars of CMHS, which span promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative care, including mental health campaigns, screenings, individual and group counseling, and external professional referrals. It also provides direct information on physical counseling locations at the Faculty A compound and public booking mechanisms through the CMHS digital portal. By maintaining an open-access digital presence and making service structures publicly transparent, UIII guarantees that information regarding free mental health support, counseling, and peer guidance remains fully visible and reachable for all students, faculty, and staff throughout their academic journey.

3. CMHS Psychoeducation Series, Session 1: Workshop on Mental Health First Aid

The first session of the psychoeducation series was a workshop on Mental Health First Aid led by Dr. Yudiana Ratnasari, M.Si., Psikolog, of Universitas Indonesia. It was held on Friday, 5 December 2025 at 2:00 PM in the Faculty A Building, Classroom 10, and was open to the whole academic community with limited seats and public online registration. Participants learned to recognise early signs of distress, offer initial support, refer a person to professional help, use breathing techniques, and manage a panic attack. Students who took part described the programme as a way to understand and manage stress and to build a culture of mutual care, which links counselling to peer support.

The series continued into 2026 to respond directly to the needs of underrepresented groups at UIII. Our community includes many international students, a large share of them from low and lower-middle income countries, who study far from home while adjusting to a new culture and a demanding postgraduate workload. One international student reported that support outside of scholarships that is relevant to academic needs is rare. The series helps to close this gap with practical skills for managing stress, communicating across cultures, setting boundaries, and seeking help early. Counseling and a continuing psychoeducation series are available to the whole academic community. Each session was announced on the CMHS Instagram account (@uiii_cmhs), was open for registration through a public form, and was reported in news articles on the UIII website.

The series continued into 2026 to respond directly to the needs of underrepresented groups at UIII. Our community includes a significant proportion of international students, primarily from low- and lower-middle-income countries, who face the challenge of living far from home while adjusting to a new cultural environment and a demanding postgraduate workload. As noted by international students, relevant support systems beyond scholarship funding are rarely provided. The psychoeducation series bridges this gap by equipping participants with practical skills to manage stress, communicate across cultures, set healthy boundaries, and seek help early.

In conclusion, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) demonstrates a comprehensive and multi-layered institutional commitment to providing structured counseling, academic mentoring, language support, and peer guidance for students, staff, and faculty from underrepresented groups. The university ensures that all support frameworks, service provisions, and mental health outreach initiatives are fully transparent and accessible to the public through official web platforms and verified institutional communication channels. By publishing detailed event documentation, implementation metrics, and direct online booking portals across public domains, UIII guarantees that critical support mechanisms are widely visible and available to the entire academic community from the very beginning of their journey. Through this connected and publicly accessible system of care and guidance, UIII successfully lowers social, psychological, and structural barriers, ensuring an inclusive and equitable environment where scholars from all backgrounds can thrive. UIII News about CMHS first psychoeducation workshop. : https://uiii.ac.id/uiii-cmhs-not-just-about-individual-coping-it-is-also-empowering/

4. Orientation and Support for International Students: UIII Pre-Departure Support Program for Incoming International & Underrepresented Postgraduate Scholars

The Office for Student Affairs and International Services held an online pre-departure session on 3 September 2025 for the incoming master's and doctoral cohort. A total of 160 of the 179 admitted students attended. The session covered visa and immigration matters, living in Indonesia, travel and accommodation, health and safety, and academic and non-academic life at UIII. Giving practical guidance before arrival lowers the barriers faced by students who must travel to a new country and settle in quickly.

Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) is committed to providing comprehensive non-academic orientation, pre-departure assistance, and transitional mentoring frameworks tailored specifically to support postgraduate students, staff, and faculty from underrepresented groups. As an international postgraduate institution, a significant proportion of UIII’s student body originates from Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), conflict-affected zones, and diverse socio-cultural backgrounds. Offering consistent pre-arrival guidance and transitional support is crucial to lowering adaptation barriers and ensuring equitable access to higher education for all scholars.

Demonstrating this commitment in practice, the Office for Student Affairs and International Services at UIII conducted a dedicated online Pre-Departure Session on 3 September 2025 for the incoming master's and doctoral cohort. The session recorded active participation from 160 out of the 179 total admitted students. Throughout the program, the institution delivered direct guidance and practical support covering essential onboarding aspects, including visa and immigration procedures to ease regulatory entry, travel and accommodation logistics to assist with international relocation, practical guidance on daily life in Indonesia, campus health and safety protocols, and an introduction to both academic expectations and non-academic community life at UIII.

This initiative provides empirical proof of structured support, counseling, and pre-arrival mentoring for underrepresented postgraduate scholars. The high turnout of 160 participating scholars out of 179 admitted candidates highlights the immediate operational impact of the program in mitigating relocation challenges. Full details of this initiative are publicly documented on the university’s official news portal through the article titled Ready for Takeoff: UIII’s 2025 Students Begin Journey with Pre-Departure Session, accessible at https://uiii.ac.id/ready-for-takeoff-uiiis-2025-students-begin-journey-with-pre-departure-session/.

5. BIPA Language Buddy and Volunteer Peer Support Program

Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) maintains structured peer support and cultural integration programs designed to assist international scholars and students from underrepresented backgrounds as they adapt to living and studying in Indonesia. Operated by the Office of Student Affairs and International Services from May to June 2025, the Bahasa Indonesia untuk Penutur Asing (BIPA) Volunteering Program provided beginner-level language instruction and cross-cultural mentorship to the university's fourth batch of international students.

The initiative implemented a language buddy model, utilizing ten trained volunteers comprising local graduate students, university staff, and academic interns to serve as learning companions and cultural mentors. Across two months, the volunteers delivered 18 instructional hours across 12 interactive sessions, helping international scholars master everyday conversational Indonesian for campus life, dormitories, and local community interaction. Beyond foundational language acquisition, the peer support framework lowered social and cultural barriers, fostering strong interpersonal connections between local and international communities. Full documentation of this peer mentoring initiative is publicly accessible on the official university portal at https://uiii.ac.id/uiii-concludes-bipa-volunteering-program-with-success-celebrating-shared-learning-and-cultural-exchange/ .

6. Academic Mentoring and Thesis Support - SHARE 2025: Thesis Writing Camp, 2 to 3 June 2025

Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) provides structured academic mentoring and targeted research support to assist postgraduate scholars from underrepresented backgrounds, including international students navigating academic requirements in a second language. On 2–3 June 2025, the Faculty of Islamic Studies (FIS) hosted SHARE: Shut Up & Write 2025, a dedicated thesis writing camp held at the Meeting Hall, 7th Floor, Jusuf Kalla Library. The two-day intensive initiative provided structured writing periods, expert-led guidance, and one-on-one supervisor consultations to reduce academic stress, enhance productivity, and support scholarly development.

Designed to address challenges faced by postgraduate researchers far from home, the program combined technical skill-building with structured peer support. Faculty leaders, including Dr. Zezen Zaenal Mutaqin, Dr. Haula Noor, and Dr. Abdelrahman Muhammad, guided participants through confidence-building and disciplined writing practices. Dr. Noor conducted specialized sessions on thesis guidelines and taught time-management methodologies, such as the Pomodoro technique, using timed intervals and structured breaks to prevent academic burnout during intensive writing. Furthermore, individual supervisor consultations provided direct academic mentoring, enabling non-native English scholars to receive targeted feedback, refine their writing direction, and overcome language and structural barriers.

Beyond formal academic mentoring, the program integrated student well-being into its structure, concluding with a casual networking session that fostered community engagement between faculty and students. Full details, program objectives, and photos of this institutional initiative are publicly accessible on the official university portal via the news release titled UIII SHARE 2025: Thesis Writing Camp, accessible at https://fis.uiii.ac.id/news/uiii-share-2025-thesis-writing-camp-3122/

7. Supplementary Family Support: UIII Daycare

UIII Daycare is a Montessori-based childcare service at UIII, managed by trained professionals and Montessori-certified teachers. It serves children from 3 months to 6 years old, with staff to child ratios of 1 to 2 for children under 2.5 years, 1 to 3 for ages 2.5 to 4, and 1 to 4 for older children. Its daily schedule runs from 08.00 to 17.00, and children use Bahasa Indonesia and English every day because some of them come from abroad. The Daycare also serves as a learning laboratory for human development and children's literacy of the Faculty of Education.

The 2025 annual report of the Faculty of Education shows that the service was in strong demand in its third year of operation. The waiting list reached 35 children, while the room had space for about 10, so UIII assigned a larger room in the former RRI building, planned for 20 children, with child-sized toilets, a small pantry and a separate sleeping room. A trainee teacher joined in the third quarter of 2025 to allow more children to be accepted. At the time of the report, eight children were enrolled: six Indonesian children and two from Afghanistan and Egypt. Learning in 2025 focused on body awareness, with personal targets for each child reviewed every three months against the Denver II developmental chart and Montessori sensitive periods, and 60 new children's books were added to the collection.

A reliable and professional childcare service is a practical support for staff, faculty and students who are parents, and it matters most for those who live far from family networks, including international scholars. Because childcare is not mentoring, counselling or peer support in the strict sense, UIII offers the Daycare as supplementary evidence of family support for its community.

Photographs from the public UIII Daycare activity gallery.

In conclusion, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) demonstrates a comprehensive and multi-layered institutional framework to provide structured counseling, academic mentoring, language support, and peer guidance for students, staff, and faculty from underrepresented groups. Designed as an international postgraduate institution, UIII specifically serves a diverse community that includes scholars from Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), conflict-affected regions like Afghanistan, and economically vulnerable backgrounds. Through a connected system of care—comprising pre-departure orientation, specialized language and thesis writing camps, accessible professional counseling via the Counseling and Mental Health Services (CMHS), and an ongoing peer-support psychoeducation series—UIII systematically lowers cultural, psychological, and structural barriers to ensure equitable integration and academic success.

The university provides evidence for the existence of provision through year-round operational support systems spanning onboarding, language classes, academic thesis camps, and mental health services. Extensive evidence is documented via active participant figures, international cohort representation, session dates, and structured skill modules. Finally, we guarantee complete public availability by maintaining open-access web portals (cmhs.uiii.ac.id and uiii.ac.id), verified news releases, and public social media platforms (@uiii_cmhs), ensuring that transparent, free, and accessible support mechanisms are reachable by all community members.