International Journal of Community Service
Vol. 6 No. 1 (2026): February 2026 (Indonesia - Timor Leste)

International Academic Exposure as a Means of Strengthening Students’ Global Mindset, Cultural Sensitivity, and Academic Motivation

Sukmawati S (Doctoral Program in Education, Postgraduete Program, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia.)
Ifayani Haanurat (Master of Management, Postgraduete Program, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia)
Sahabuddin Nanda (Management Study Program, Faculty of Economic and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia.)
Wa Ode Rayyani (Accounting Study Program, Faculty of Economic and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia)
Asri Jaya (Management Study Program, Faculty of Economic and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia)
Zalkha Soraya (Management Study Program, Faculty of Economic and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia)
M. Yusuf. K (Islamic Economics Study Program, Faculty of Economic and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia)
Muchriana Muchran (Master of Accounting, Postgraduete Program, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Makassar, South Sulawesi 90221, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
28 Feb 2026

Abstract

Strengthening students’ global competencies has become a critical challenge in the context of higher education in the era of globalization. Education is no longer focused solely on formal academic achievement, but also on the development of a global mindset, cultural sensitivity, and academic motivation as essential components of students’ readiness to engage in a multicultural global environment. One approach to addressing this challenge is through international academic exposure designed as part of community engagement activities. This article aims to describe the contribution of international academic exposure as a means of strengthening students’ global mindset, cultural sensitivity, and academic motivation within the context of higher education. The community service program was implemented using a descriptive–participatory approach with a hybrid model that combined offline international activities in Egypt and Saudi Arabia with online academic dissemination and reflection. A total of 12 lecturers from diverse educational backgrounds were involved as facilitators. Student participants consisted of 15 students who took part directly in offline international academic exposure activities and 438 students who participated online through reflective and dissemination activities. Data were collected through observation, discussions, structured reflections, and activity documentation, and were analyzed using a descriptive qualitative approach. The findings indicate that international academic exposure contributes to strengthening students’ global mindset, cultural sensitivity, and academic motivation, both intensively among offline participants and reflectively among online participants. These findings affirm that international academic exposure can serve as a relevant education-based community engagement model in supporting the internationalization of higher education.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

go

Publisher

Subject

Religion Humanities Education Environmental Science Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Library & Information Science Public Health Social Sciences Other

Description

Training and Marketing are utilized for community empowerment, SMEs and local communities; Community empowerment; Social Access; Community Service Activities by Students; Empowerment of Border Area Communities; Education for Sustainable Development; Empowerment Program Health ; Design and Reach ...