Vassilissa Tjondro: international student profile

Vassilissa Tjondro came to Manchester from Indonesia to study for an MSc in Mechanical Engineering after spending some time in Germany as part of her bachelor degree programme. She has been an active member of our Indonesian Student Society, PPI-GM, and has found that both her studies and her time with the society have helped her to develop and plan for her future career.

Vassilissa Tjondro

“My favourite thing about the University campus is the availability of PC clusters. In Indonesia it is not as common to have PC clusters on campus which have such a range of programmes which we can use to enhance our learning. I use the Barnes Wallis hub and the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons – the latter is amazing, especially for the group rooms.

“What I like most about Manchester is that the city centre is easy to reach – it’s not like London! Shopping in Manchester is also very convenient, with the Arndale Shopping Centre in the city centre. I also often use to the University’s sports facilities, such as the Sugden Centre. I play squash with my class mates – not competitively, just for fun! The atmosphere in Manchester overall is great; I received such a warm welcome.  

“I am a member of the PPI-GM Society (Indonesian Student Society), and help organise events. I was involved in the Indonesian Cultural Festival in March this year, which was awesome – I was one of the performers in the traditional Saman dance. The atmosphere when the Saman dance is performed is very cheerful, and it made me happy that the audience really liked it. The best part of being a member of the PPI-GM society is meeting lots of new people, and interacting with people from all different backgrounds in Indonesia (as Indonesia is a big country!).

“After graduation, I plan to go straight into work. I think my study here has helped me to open my eyes to what is missing in my country, so I would like to join a start-up company - as in Indonesia there are a lot of young people who are enthusiastic to build new companies. It makes our country’s future brighter!”