USU's development towards a World Class University is contained in USU's Strategic Plan (Renstra) for 2020-2024 with one of the goals is the creation of a TALENTA-based competitive advantage with international standards. 522 foreign students at USU come from Malaysia and are enrolled only in the Bachelor (S-1) program. Both in terms of number and variety of country of origin, foreign students at USU are still not optimal. In order to increase the number of foreign students who indicate USU's international reputation, USU will provide scholarships for research doctoral programs. This work program will also improve the assessment of the QS WUR / AUR indicators, namely academic reputation, and citation per faculty with the increasing performance of the number of research publications of USU lecturers.

This activity will be supported by the issuance of a Chancellor's Regulation concerning the Research Pathway Doctoral Program. Then a roadshow was conducted to all doctoral study programs in USU for student admissions in May-August 2020 with a target of 5 scholarships for a study period of 3 years (6 semesters) starting September 2020. Scholarships include travel costs, tuition fees, and living costs. . For the first semester which requires students to sit-in, they will be accommodated at USU's International Wisma. However, its implementation will pay close attention to government regulations and follow USU policies and adjust to conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred in 2020. In addition to promoting to faculties / SPs, the team will also carry out promotions and outreach to prospective foreign students and foreign universities. . On this occasion, the team will explore signing the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to carry out a double degree program.