Germany-Focused Study and Career Orientation at MAN 1 Makassar: A School–University Community Engagement Program

International study aspirations among secondary-school students often remain disconnected from the practical knowledge, career planning, language preparation, and intercultural readiness required to pursue education abroad. This community engagement program addressed that gap by providing Germany-focused study and career education for students at MAN 1 Kota Makassar, Indonesia. The program was implemented on 28 July 2026 through a participatory educational approach consisting of partner coordination, interactive orientation on German higher education, scholarship and application literacy, study-and-career planning, and direct intercultural dialogue with Shabrina, a guest speaker from Germany. Evaluation was descriptive and output-oriented, drawing on implementation records, participant engagement during discussion and question-and-answer sessions, program documentation, and the completion of educational materials and dissemination outputs. The program broadened students’ informational exposure to German universities, scholarship pathways, language requirements, application documents, and career considerations. The direct interaction with a German speaker added an authentic intercultural dimension, allowing students to connect academic information with everyday social and cultural realities. Program outputs included educational materials, a study and scholarship guide, mentoring activities, photo and video documentation, mass-media publication, and a community-service article submitted to a journal. The experience suggests that pre-mobility preparation at the secondary-school level is strengthened when information provision is integrated with career guidance, scholarship literacy, and authentic intercultural contact. The article proposes a practical four-domain model of global study readiness—information, planning, language/application, and intercultural readiness—for replication in school–university community engagement programs