Renita Yuni Hapsari, Siti Layyina Khairunnisa Marola, and Naufal Rizky Eryanto, three students from the Applied Foreign Languages Study Program, Vocational School, Diponegoro University, are currently undergoing a one-year international internship program at Seawood Hotel, a resort located on Kurima Island, Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan — a marine tourism destination widely visited by both domestic and international tourists.
Through this program, the students gain the opportunity to learn firsthand about Japan’s hospitality industry service standards while developing their professional competence in an international work environment. This year-long program provides real work experience for the students to comprehensively understand the pace of work at a star-rated hotel, from operational standards to the service culture practiced on a daily basis.
During the internship, the three students are placed in the Kitchen Division. At Seawood Hotel, there are two types of kitchens, namely Yoshoku (Western cuisine) and Washoku (Japanese cuisine), each with different menus and preparation techniques. Through this placement, the students learn various aspects of hotel kitchen operations. In the Yoshoku section, the students learn processes ranging from food preparation to plating dishes according to hotel standards, as well as maintaining cleanliness of the work area. Meanwhile, in the Washoku section, since most of the dishes served consist of raw food, the students focus on the plating process while also maintaining cleanliness of the work area. In addition, the students learn to work quickly and carefully while maintaining the quality of food and service that characterizes Japan’s hospitality industry.
Beyond technical competence, the program also serves as a means for the students to sharpen their Japanese language skills through daily communication with coworkers, while gaining an understanding of Japanese work culture, which upholds discipline, responsibility, and teamwork, as well as the concept of omotenashi as a form of the finest service to customers. Through this experience, the students are expected to enhance their professional competence, foreign language proficiency, and readiness to face the global workforce, while directly applying the knowledge gained during their studies in an international work environment.