Surabaya is an active port city and military center. It is also a center of industry. The city has grown quickly, and today boasts numerous McDonald's, four huge shopping malls, six five-star hotels, and an international airport. The infrastructure is constantly undergoing improvements, but most areas are still subject to occasional brief power outages, water shortages, traffic jams, and flooding. The water provided through plumbing by the public utility is not portable.
Public transport is cheap, crowded, and complex.
At this time, the project is still in the early stages of development. SIS was founded in 1971 with the assistance of the United States Consulate in Surabaya, and the first group of students numbered only 24. Several campus sites have been occupied in its fairly brief history, but the current campus was opened in August of 1995. The campus has four computer labs, three science labs, gym, 50-meter swimming pool, soccer field, music and art rooms, and over 40 classrooms. The campus can hold approximately 600 students.