The excitement of the 32nd National Student Scientific Week (PIMNAS) is unforgettable because this event also repeats the triumph of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) which again became the overall champion. This season, UGM won a total of 26 medals (9 gold medals, 8 silver medals, and 9 bronze medals) from the presentation and posters category. One of the faculties that contributed the most medals was the Faculty of Cultural Sciences which sent 4 contingents with 8 medals. and here are the works :

1. “Pongo, Rhino, Para: Boneka Maskot Wonderful Indonesia Sebagai Media Promosi Keragaman Pariwisata” from the PKM-K class who won a gold medal in the presentation and a silver medal in the poster category, and the members are : M. Dhiya Ulhaq (Tourism Study FIB), Almira Putri (Japanese Literature FIB), Rika Absoni (Accounting Study FEB), dan Yohanes Adjie Kurniawan (D3 Computer and Information System).

2. “Nirbana: Sistem Identifikasi Relief (SIRel) Sebagai Upaya Penanaman Nilai Luhur Bangsa Indonesia” from the PKM-KC class who won bronze medals in the presentation and poster categories, and the members are : Rachmat Krismono (Archeology study FIB), Assajie Satyananda (Archeology study FIB), dan M. Tauriqurahman (Electronics and Instrumentation study FMIPA).

3. PKM-PSH class with the title “Tradisi Kawalu Suku Baduy Dalam: Pengangkatan Nilai Nasionalisme Sebagai Pendukung Integrasi Nasional” won a bronze medal in the presentation category and a silver in the poster category, and the members are Charistya Herandy (cultural anthropology FIB), Aisyah Suki Pratiwi (French Literature Study FIB), dan Rahmlia Intan Sulistiyawati (French Literature Study FIB).

4. “Subak Era Turistifikasi: Dilema Kelompok Subak dalam Mempertahankan Kearidan Lokal di Bali” from the PKM-PSH class who won gold medals in the presentation and poster categories, and the members are Citra Cahya A. (Tourism Study FIB), Rahmayanti (faculty of Psychology), dan Akhmad Khanif (cultural anthropology FIB

“The UGM delegation received six awards from the five categories that were contested,” said Dr. Nurulia Hidayah, S.Pt., MP., supervisor of the entrepreneurial student program of the UGM Student Character Development Sub-Directorate, Thursday (29/8) when met at Udayana University, Bali.

The second-place award was won in the photography category by Sulthan Tariq Firmansyah (Faculty of Agriculture) with the title ‘kehidupan Sabana. Then, the second winner came from the innovation exhibition category by Yandhitya Affan Almada (SV) who proposed an Al-Production machine innovation to process plastic waste into fuel. Last but not least, Mother was the third winner in the essay category by Muhammad Riza Nur Pratama (FISPOL) who submitted a paper entitled Gusjigang: Revitalisasi Pendidikan Karakter Berbasis Kearifan Lokal.

Moreover, the second-place winner in the business idea category was won by a team and the members are Anggita Rahma Adriani, Savira Putri Utami, Widi Kurniawati from FMIPA who proposed an innovative indoor pollutant cleaning business idea with a rustic design equipped with a reminder and motivational message “Carbonara”. Furthermore, the third-place winner in the videography category with a team consisting of Robby Rizal, Putri Meilinda Sari Sudarmanto, Ida Bagus Gede Aric Surya Lesmana from FIB submitted a video about the spirit of preserving culture entitled ‘Tanpa Batas’. Then, the third runner-up with members Fauzan Hanif, Rewina Ika Pratiwi, Ida Bagus Putra Ananta Sidhiswara (FIB) with a video about myths on Enggano Island, Bengkulu entitled Perihei:Tradisi atau Kutukan?.

Nurul said that the achievements that have been obtained are the result of the students’ hard work and the guidance of the supervisory lecturers. She hopes that UGM will be able to present more awards in the same championship next year.

“We will conduct intensive training in order to obtain maximum results,” she explained.

FIB students won again! Congratulations to the Team from the Tourism major that competed in the Youth Asean Forum: Sustainable Tourism at Prince of Sonkla University Thailand.

1. 1st Place : Speech Contest (On behalf of Ervina Wardiyanti, Tourism 2016)

2. 2nd Place : Project Development of Asean Tourism (On behalf of Riris Rinonce, 2017 class of Tourism)

A group of UGM students empowered rural communities to build Children’s Reading Houses and initiated preschool (PAUD) activities that were integrated with Healthcare Center (posyandu). The program which was implemented in Batur Hamlet, Wonolelo Village, Sawangan District, and Magelang Regency is expected to increase the literacy of the local community.

Literacy is the ability to read, write, and understand which is very fundamental for human life. According to a survey on the level of public literacy by PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) in 2015, Indonesia is still ranked 60th out of a total of 72 countries. Rural and remote areas often have lower literacy rates than urban areas, one of which is due to limited facilities.

Seeing this situation, Dinda Hermiranti P. from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Erlina Fahrunisa from the Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Rodhliyah Nur Wulan from the Faculty of Philosophy, Antonius Aditya J. and MSC Gemilang from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Assisted by Communication Studies lecturer Lisa Lindawati, SIP, MA, together with the residents of Dusun Batur, were moved to establish the Anak Karung Goni Reading House. This hamlet is located on the slopes of Mount Merbabu and directly with Mount Merbabu National Park. Quite high and far from the center of government, this village can only be accessed via 2 narrow concrete roads with cliffs on the left and right of the road. The name Karung Goni was taken to describe simplicity with broad benefits, in line with the spirit of UGM.

For now, this reading house still contains books for children aged 3-15 years considering that the younger generation is a crucial element that must be immediately introduced to literacy. The books are placed in one of the residents’ houses which can also be used as a Children’s Learning Post. As for toddler, literacy improvement activities are carried out integrated with Posyandu through PAUD. Together with the Literacy Heroes and the Education Heroes who have been empowered, these two programs are the starting point for the development of literacy in Dusun Batur. Now, from an early age, Dusun Batur children can interact with books and educational toys that are more accessible and self-managed by residents.

Temples are one of the most popular cultural artefacts people visit and interact with. Yet, as of right now, the cultural aspect is rarely disseminated and discussed upon, even at popular ones such as Borobudur and Prambanan. To change this condition, Rachmat Krismono (Archeology), Assajie Satyananda (Archeology) and Tommy Wahyu (Computer Science), created an app to enable visitors to understand temple reliefs, called Nirbana.

The Nirbana app, available on the Play Store, utilized SpeedUp Robust Feature, Historical K-means and Augmented Reality to enable visitors to see and access information on the reliefs just by pointing their smartphone cameras to the reliefs.

This innovation has been funded by DIKTI, and has been exhibited at Margono Building’s corridors on the 2st floor on June 26-28, 2019. This exhibiton is held in conjunction with the exhibition of Arca Heads of Borobudur, held by the Archeology Graduate Programme of FIB UGM.