SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals | SDGs 17: Global partnership | SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institution | SDGs 16: Conflict resolution | SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities | SDGs 11: Community

On Tuesday, February 13th 2024 at 1 until 3 pm, the UGM Japanese Language and Culture Study Program held a public lecture on the topic “Will Japan become a ‘normal country’?: Changes in the Defense Debate Before and After the Outbreak of The Ukraine War ” which was delivered by researchers and teaching staff at the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies from Kobe University, (Ass. Prof.) Masato Nakahara. This Public Lecture was the opening for the 2023/2024 even semester lecture activities which were attended by lecturers and students of the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program, as well as students from outside the study program who were interested in Japanese issues.

In the first part, Nakahara-sensei explained the history of the formation of the Jieitai (Japanese Self-Defense Forces) after Japan’s defeat in World War II and changed in the position of the Jieitai during the Allied occupation as regulated in the Showa Constitution which was in effect to this day. The restrictions on Jieitai activities regulated in the Showa Constitution meant that Japan’s military activities were very limited, including when there was a war outside Japan, such as Russia’s war with Ukraine, which is still ongoing today. Japan’s position in relation to security and world peace is a dilemma because sending war troops abroad violates the mandate of the Shouwa Constitution, while on the other hand the international world wants Japan to play an active role in sending war troops. Especially in the current era where changes in the global political constellation after the Cold War are increasingly dynamic and real, Japan, which is required to always prioritize peace as mandated by the Shouwa Constitution (Heiwa Kenpou), needs to look for new interpretations so that it can become a ‘normal’ country, namely a country that on the one hand can maintain sovereignty, and on the other hand can play a role in world peace. After the presentation session by Nakahara-sensei, the public lecture continued with a discussion and question and answer session which was very dynamic and filled with various questions from the public lecture participants regarding Japan’s attitude and position in relation to international conflicts, geopolitical changes in East Asia and Indonesia.

Understanding the position of Japan in the context of global change is considered important for the study program’s academic community because apart from being a means of updating information related to current issues regarding the country of Japan, it is also a means of learning and inspiration for research themes concerning Japanese issues. More than that, through forums like this, cooperation between study programs and foreign institutions can be further enhanced and can become a means for study programs to facilitate their academic community to be able to move more globally, in accordance with one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), namely developing global partnerships for development.

SDGS 4: Quality Education | SDGS 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDGS 17: Partnership for the Goals

Yogyakarta, 05 February 2024 – Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) opens opportunities for students to broaden their horizons and hone their skills outside the classroom. This was proven by the students of Arabic Literature at Gadjah Mada University who had participated in internships at various institutions, such as the DIY Regional Police, PT KAI Daop 6 Yogyakarta, and the Sleman Religious Court.

During the internship, students had the opportunity to develop various soft skills and hard skills, such as communication skills, creative thinking, writing, problem solving, and content creation. This experience helped them to be better prepared to enter the world of work and answer current industry needs.

At the DIY Regional Police, students had the opportunity to study in the PSDM section to learn on preparing quality and highly competitive human resources. At PT KAI Daop 6 Yogyakarta, students were placed in the public relations department who studied news writing, news reporting and social media content creation. Meanwhile, at the Sleman Religious Court, students were placed in the service section where they learned how to communicate with litigants and how to mediate to reach a peaceful solution.

Through the MBKM program, students had the opportunity to develop themselves and prepare themselves to face the world of work. Through internships at various institutions, they gained hands-on experience and learned about various fields. With this, it is hoped that students will become qualified and highly competitive graduates.

Long distance travel from Surabaya to Yogyakarta apparently did not prevent them from continuing to show their enthusiasm when listening, watching, and discussing everything about the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University on Wednesday, February 7th 2024. Starting from the quiz session to the question and answer session, they were very enthusiastic about fighting to be appointed. The questions they asked were insightful and very varied, some asked about scholarships, the registration system, and the activities they would do if they were the students here. These high school students have had an interest in the social sector from the start, seeing from the major they take which is social studies, many of them dream of continuing their education at this faculty. The majors they wanted were very diverse, there were tourism, archaeology, Korean language and culture, Japanese literature, and others.

One of the teacher representatives who gave the opening speech repeatedly expressed his gratitude and thanks for the warm welcome they received, and hoped that in the future they would produce many superior generations who were able to compete and were worthy of being part of Gadjah Mada University student. Two other teachers who were also in the group were very humble enough to take the time to shake hands and joke around for a while before leaving the room. Apart from warm greetings, they also gave souvenirs and large parcels in the form of typical Surabaya souvenirs which they brought from far away. After having a light chat before going back, a group photo session was held. This visit ended with a very pleasant impression. The students and accompanying teachers continued their visit by going around to see the environment in the Faculty of Cultural Sciences while occasionally capturing the moment with their cell phone cameras.

Double degree program in Heritage studies (UGM) and in critical heritage studies of Asia and Europe (Universiteit Leiden, Netherlands) is a program where postgraduate students, especially those majoring in archeology, can study in two places, namely Indonesia and the Netherlands for two semesters each and will get two degrees at once. In order to socialize this program to archeology students of Gadjah Mada University, the director of the Universiteit Leiden office and KITLV from Jakarta, Marrik Bellen, visited the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University. Held in the multimedia room of the Margono building on February 5th 2024 at 2 pm, the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences himself gave a welcoming speech.

This event was attended by archeology postgraduate students both offline and online. Meanwhile, the two main speakers tasked with conveying the program mechanism were Dr. Anggraeni M.A. as the first speaker from Gadjah Mada University and Dr. Elena Paskaleva from Universiteit Leiden as the second speaker. The first speaker discussed the registration mechanism starting from the time period, requirements that must be met, registration requirements, number of students who will be accepted, and many more which can be checked on the um.ugm.ac.id page. For Indonesia. students, they will get two diplomas at once after they complete 1 year of study at their campus in Indonesia and 1 year at Universiteit Leiden. Meanwhile, Leiden students will immediately receive a diploma after completing each 1 year of study.

Through the zoom meeting, the second speaker focused more on explaining the mechanisms during the study. The presentation begins by giving reasons why you should study at Universiteit Leiden and what career prospects that students will get in the future. After that, she began to explain the things that needed to be prepared when studying there, such as preparing the language because all lectures will be held in English, there were 60 EC/European Credit (SKS) a year with 28 hours per EC, and there were many courses that could be chosen. such as Politics, Economics, Literature, Language, and many more. She also provides information about where students have to look for themselves, but can ask others because there are many Indonesian students studying at the university.

This event is the peak of all event series for the 78th Anniversary of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University. Join and celebrate the 78th anniversary with the theme “HARMONY OF INNOVATION IN CULTURAL DIVERSITY” on Saturday 2nd of March 2024 at 7 am until Finished. Located in the Faculty of Cultural Sciences’ courtyard.

Some interesting activities at the event are in the following list:

Launching Innovation Program

Family Gathering

Cultural Festival

Culinary Innovation and Student Work

The event is guaranteed to be interesting, lots of entertainment and door prizes await

Don’t forget to save the date and come with your family! Don’t miss it!