Seven week of lectures have passed and the students have to take their mid-term exam. The university had determined the mid-term exam period on the 1st–26th of April 2024 where the lecturers have the authority to organize the exam. The Master of Linguistics students batch 2023 shared their experience taking this examination.

“I am taking seven classes and I have to submit three papers for this mid-term exam,” said Tata and Ilham, Master of Linguistics students who take Social Linguistics as their field of interest. From the Descriptive Linguistics group, Damai said that she had to submit several papers and present her research. Similar to other students, Wanda, who chose Translation as her field of interest, said that she had to submit papers reviewing some journals and discussing a particular topic, write a thesis proposal, and take a practical exam.

The students expressed that the preparation for the exam was challenging. Gathering ideas, topics, and literature to construct the papers was tough and laborious but still enjoyable. “I was clueless about the things that I had to write but having a fun discussion with my friends helped me a lot to find enlightenment in making my masterpieces,” Ilham declared proudly.

“It is my second mid-term examination and I got the experience (from the previous semester) that made me more prepared. But still, it was stressful since I was the one who was a deadliner” said Damai while giggling.

In composing the papers, the students have several strategies such as making their own deadline for collecting the data and writing every part of the papers. Despite all the intricacy, according to Tata and Damai, this mid-term exam period would be another experience since they will join a field trip for Anthropological Linguistics and Dialectology where they need to collect the data by interviewing and observing a particular group of people as part of the mid-term examination.

The mid-term exam is finally over. The students hope that they will get good marks. “It’s not only about the good marks but I hope I can comprehend all the material and the things that I read and learned well. It is more important than only having a good grade without knowing the essence and mastering the lesson,” Ilham ended.

To support the innovation and accommodate the aspirations of Master of Linguistics students in the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, KALINGGA (Keluarga Mahasiswa Linguistik Gadjah Mada) has created several work programs for the next 1 year. The event was opened by Dr. Sailal Arimi advised KALINGGA to become a forum that could be useful for developing UGM Linguistics and have an impact on the general public. Chairperson of KALINGGA 2024 Yuliana Kristianti also said several things, one of which was that KALINGGA could be a place to channel various abilities and develop the portfolio of each individual member of KALINGGA 2024.

The first presentation was from the ‘Minat dan Bakat’ division which presented various activities to facilitate students channelling their hobbies and talents in the fields of arts and sports. Furthermore, the PSDM (Human Resources Development) division presented its work program to strengthen relations between Master of Linguistics students in various classes. There is also a Social and Community Action division which explains various social activities of Master of Linguistics students which can be useful for the general public. Then, the LITBANG (Research and Development) division conveyed programs related to Linguistics, one of which was making books. Followed by the MEDINFO (Media and Information) division which explained programs related to delivering various innovations in reporting activities on the timeline through the KALINGGA mascot named Lingga.

The next presentation was from the ADHUMJAR (Advocacy, Public Relations and Networking) division which delivered programs related to communication between students at the Master of Linguistics UGM and outside the Master of Linguistics UGM, one of the programs was creating a Masters of Linguistics Student Association throughout Indonesia. The presentation was closed by the BPH who said that KALINGGA members could work together to build a Masters in Linguistics at UGM together.

Through the working meeting activities, each division conveys its own work program so that the implementation objectives are correct, so that activities within the Master of Linguistics UGM can run effectively, and have an impact on the general public.

KALINGA, Dr. Suhandano, Dr. Sailal Arimi, and Drs. Tatang Hariri along with Master of Linguistics students across generations, carried out a ‘Students Gathering’ as well as the ‘The KALINGGA Handover Ceremony 2024’. In this activity, various discussions related to academic activity in the Master of Linguistics UGM took place actively, such as transparency of student assessments and holding a prayer room in the Soegondo building so that lectures took place more efficiently. On this occasion, Dr. Suhandano also said that there would be a new application related to assessment, namely ‘Sioba’. Furthermore, final semester assignments also need to provide options other than articles and there is also a need for thesis research mentoring by lecturers. It is hoped that through this activity students will be more motivated to publish journals and be fluent in compiling their theses so they can complete lectures on time.

The system of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) embraced in September 2015 by the UN, the worldwide improvement motivation for the primary time alludes to culture. The benefits of keeping up and progressing culture are accomplished through socially educated and viable execution of advancement objectives. Thus, discussion forums between lecturers and students can be a good culture to support and improve the quality of the learning environment.

In this activity, the stewardship of KALINGGA for the next 1 year was also officially appointed by Dr. Suhandano, witnessed by the previous year’s KALINGGA Management and students from across generations who were present. In the next 1 year, KALINGGA is expected to become a forum that can accommodate the aspirations of Master of Linguistics students, support the growth of student achievement and innovation, including creating useful activities in the field of Linguistics and society.

The Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, on Thursday, May 30, 2024, provided training to students, especially the 2023 linguistics master study program on academic writing. The activity was held at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, and was opened by remarks from the Head of the Linguistics Master Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM, Dr. Suhandano. He also introduced the speakers and activities that would be delivered by the speakers to students. He expressed his gratitude to the speakers who had been willing to share their knowledge. In addition, he also gave advice to students about the importance of this activity to support academic careers, especially the requirements for thesis exams so that students must take a lot of knowledge from these activities.

The first speaker at the Academic writing workshop was Dr. Badli Esham Ahmad. He conveyed the importance of publishing journals for master students and shared tips on choosing journals to be published, namely as follows: Journals that match the theme of the article, be careful with predatory journals, and the need to pay attention to the open access offered by the journal, whether it is paid or not, what the index of the journal is, and how the review process is. In publishing a journal, what needs to be done first is to complete the journal article first, then search and find a suitable journal as a place for publication of the journal article. After finding a suitable journal, make sure the topic, theme, and scope are appropriate, follow the journal’s provisions, and can also send an email to the editor to ensure the topic or theme of the journal article matches the scope requested by the journal.

The second speaker was Prof. Madya Dr. Kamisah Binti Ariffin (S.A.P.). She motivated the students to stay in the process of writing and publishing journals. Her tips were that first, in choosing the title (topic) of the article, we need to see something that is still less researched on the topic, so that the topic will be interesting and unique, different from the research that has been done. Second, we can search for previous research related to the topic through Google to find out the gaps that are still under-researched from the topic. Third, we must look at the scope of a journal, find the appropriate one, and follow the writing guidelines. The event was closed by handing over souvenirs from the Head of the UGM Master of Linguistics Study Program and a group photo.

SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Basic literacy skills | SDGs 8: Creativity and innovation | SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities | SDG 17: Partnerships for goals | SDGs 17: Fostering innovation

Sunday, May 5, 2024 was the last day of a series of Pasar Jembar events held at Jogja Nation Museum Bloc. The event offered many diverse UMKM stands that you could try on the spot or take home. Everything from traditional cuisine to antiques were sold there. Aside from selling local brands, the event also provided an open stage for entertainment where local communities could take part. One of the communities that enlivened the stage was the Gadjah Mada University Postgraduate Art community, commonly known as SAGA. SAGA sent representatives from the dance division to perform their Nyawiji Mukti dance and from the theater division to perform a poetry musicalization entitled “Kau Peluk Luka Punyaku” by Inri Savitri.

Interestingly, the delegate of the theater division is a graduate student from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Linguistics study program, class of 2022. Her name is Aisyah Riska. Apart from being active in the academic field, she is also active in developing her talents in the arts by joining several art communities during lectures. This 25-year-old woman often performs at various events and art performances, one of which on this occasion was at the Pasar Jembar event. With her ability to read poetry, she managed to hypnotize the audience with her poetry musicalization. The audience was touched by her recitation of a religious poem about God who accompanies us when we are wounded and is able to heal it. “I want to awaken people to remember that in the most painful situation they are not alone, there is God who always holds them tight, so be strong and get closer to Him,” she said.