Yogyakarta, 3/1/2025 – A year prior to his enrolment to IISMA, Elkholy was already certain that he wanted to participate in this program. In order to succeed, this English Literature student of Batch 2021 had prepared himself by doing various preparations. Elkholy participated in ATF 2023, ISKA 2023 and some other organisations to gain more experiences in order to increase his chances of passing the first stage of selection. After passing the preliminary stage, Elkholy continued to prepare for the interview session by doing mock-up interviews. His efforts paid off because he was accepted as an IISMA Awardee at University of Leeds.

After going through a preparatory stage encompassing academic, financial, social, and technical aspects called IISMA Pre-Departure Series, Elkholy departed to University of Leeds on 16th of September. Upon arriving first at Manchester airport, Elkholy was warmly welcomed by a representative from University of Leeds. Prior to his departure, Elkholy had already received so many emails and newsletters from the university—which really proved to be a great source of information to help him settle in during his first weeks in Leeds. In addition to that, the university also gave two weeks of orientation filled with welcoming activities which really prepared Elkholy to start his academic lectures when week three came.

During his study period at Leeds, Elkholy was enrolled in four different modules. This was in accordance with the arrangement done by IISMA and the Study Abroad Team. These modules were Introduction to Psychology, Psychology in the Media, Challenges in Transport and Mobility and Natural Hazards. Elkholy intentionally chose modules that are not directly related to English Literature or one specific field, because he wanted to learn something entirely new. The efficacious teaching methods and well-structured assessments boosted Elkholy’s academic journey experience. Overall, Elkholy felt that he has been well enlightened of academic life at the world-renowned University of Leeds—an opportunity he would forever cherish.

Apart from academic obligations, Elkholy also experienced new cultural exposure during his stay.  It was easy to spot many castles and historical landmarks, which were still well preserved. Every city Elkholy visited had an art gallery and a museum housing their own individual contribution to the country’s history. Elkholy did not only learn new cultures from visiting historical sites or museums. For him, even the mundane activities of grocery shopping or interaction with locals in public transport were the greatest contributors to him learning new cultures. 

Elkholy was a little bit reluctant to bid farewell to the city that had left such great impressions on him. During his journey back home, he reflected how this IISMA journey has been nothing but extraordinarily worthwhile. It gave Elkholy the chance to study outside his major in a globally renowned university, exposed him to new cultures and people, enlightened his view upon the outside world, and shed light on possible future prospects of my study. There might be difficulties along the way, but they were easily paid-off with the vast amount of new academic and global experience he gained.

[Public Relations of English Literature UGM]

SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Enrolment | SDGs 4: Equal access | SDGs 4: Education for sustainability | SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth 

Career Talk: Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs was a discussion program about future careers, especially for English literature graduates, which was organized by IMAJI (English Literature Department Student Association) and attended by various active students of the English Literature study program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, from all generations. The study program deliberately presented a speaker who had a lot of great experience that can be a motivation for students. The speaker was MOHAMAD WAHID SUPRIYADI, Indonesian Ambassador for UAE (2008-2011), Indonesian Ambassador for Russian Federation and Republic of Belarus (2016-2020), Visiting Professor of International Relations from Tomsk State University. The event took place on May 13rd, 2024 at 10 until 12 am in Soegondo room 310, hosted by a Master of Ceremony, Aimar Prabhaswara Dzakri, who is an English literature student at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada.

In this activity, students did not only listen to knowledge from one direction or from the speaker, but they felt reciprocity because they discussed and voiced their opinions which were later commented on and answered by the speaker. They discussed about Indonesians who study or work abroad but do not want to return. Mr. Mohammad Wahid Supriyadi responded that this could not be said to be a traitor or something like that considering the facilities provided by this country to them are not as good as when abroad and even many great people are not appreciated. There were also those who asked about what made him from the UGM English Literature study program finally appointed as an ambassador from Indonesia in Russia with full powers. He also shared that he initially only corrected English documents when no one else could, then was appointed to write speeches of high-ranking officials, then became the minutes of international meetings. Finally, he gave a conclusion at the end of the meeting that the problem of many people is that they are too quiet, as a diplomat you have to talk more.

SGDs 4: Quality Education| SDGs 4: Cultural diversity | SDGs 4: Basic literacy skills | SDGs 8: Creativity and innovation | SDG 9: Industry innovation and infrastructure | SDGs 9: Cooperation | SGDs 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions | SDGs 17: Fostering innovation | SDGs 17: Global partnership

Last Sunday (17/3/2024), the English Literature student activity, namely the English Literature Pradangga or often known as Prasasti Club received a visit from Dr. Antonio Guerra Arias, a research professor and creator with a specialist field of ethnodrama studies from the Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua. The visit took place at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences of Universitas Gadjah Mada, accompanied by the Head of the English Literature Program, Dr. Adi Sutrisno, M.A. and a retired English Literature lecturer who is also an arts activist, Dr. Eddy Pursubaryanto, Dip.TESL, M.Hum.

The purpose of Dr. Antonio Guerra Arias’ visit was to explore and understand the art of drama performance, especially Javanese Puppetry. Dr. Antonio Guerra Arias believes that the art of drama performance in Indonesia and in Mexico has similarities, namely the stories presented in drama performances are still strongly related to rituals and mystical things. In his research entitled “Shadows of Little Mexico”, Dr. Antonio intends to collaborate the story in his homeland with the Mahabharata story in Indonesia in a puppetry show.

During the visit, Dr. Adi Sutrisno, M.A. and Dr. Eddy Pursubaryanto, Dip.TESL, M.Hum. invited Dr. Antonio to watch the weekly practice of Prasasti which was held at the Margono building of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. While listening to the music, Dr. Antonio had a conversation with the teacher and composer of the songs performed by the club, Nanang Karbito, M. Sn. The conversation was about the art of Javanese puppetry and the stories behind it. 

Currently, Dr. Antonio still needs the help of experts in the field of Javanese art, especially Javanese puppetry. For colleagues who are experts in this field, you can contact him via email address tony_war@hotmail.com and WhatsApp number +62 823-3383-6437.

SGDs 4: Quality Education | SGDs 5: Gender Equality | SGDs 5: Empowerment of Women |  SGDs 10: Reduced Inequalities | SGDs 17: Fostering Innovation

Bulan Churniati, an English Department student batch 2021, achieved the Penghargaan Favorit Pemilihan Mahasiswa Berprestasi UGM 2024 awards on Pemilihan Mahasiswa Berprestasi UGM 2024 event. Before receiving this award, Bulan accomplished many achievements, for example, the winner of Digital Entrepreneurship Hackathon 2023 by held UNESCO UNITWIN in South Korea, the third place in the national competition Publicly Digital Legal Innovation 2023 held by Oleco, dan became the ambassador of Millennial KAMI Foundation x Tjorak Sorai 2023.

Bulan is committed to give her best efforts in everything she does. This strong determination stems from her will to partake in women empowerment. 

“Wong wedok ora usah melu-melu, which means: women are not supposed to intervene. That saying is embedded in my heart and mind. This is the reason I participate in prestigious awards and build a branding around this issue. I just want other women to realize that new opportunities are available to us, and I hope those women will use those chances. I do not want to be the only woman who fights for this, I want to join forces with other women as well.” Said Bulan about her motivation to participate in Pemilihan Mahasiswa Berprestasi UGM 2024. 

Bulan went through a long process to prepare herself for participating in this event. The first step she had to undergo was the administration selection. She had to prepare three things on this stage. First, an English proficiency certificate. If the participant does not have an English proficiency certificate yet, they will be facilitated to take the AcEPT test if they pass to the next stage. Second, list of achievements. The limited number of achievements to be included in the list is ten, so the participant should select the best achievements they have. Third, an innovation proposal. In this event, Bulan wrote a proposal titled “In-Eksklusif: Program Peningkatan Kesempatan Eksklusif untuk Pelaku Ekonomi Inklusif”, a program to increase exclusive opportunities for inclusive businesses. This proposal correlates with Bulan’s IT background and humanistic perspective. 

In the faculty selection, the participant will present their ideas and answer questions from the juries in a 30-minute session. One student will be granted the award of Mahasiswa Berprestasi Utama and represent the faculty in the Supercamp event, where they will present their list of achievements and innovation proposals. In this event, the committee will select three winners for three categories: bachelor program, diploma program, and favorite.

Bulan gained valuable insights after participating in Pemilihan Mahasiswa Berprestasi UGM 2024, “We have to prepare ourselves to be let down by the results if we are participating in competition. We also have to make sure that we have adequate experiences.”

After winning the Penghargaan Favorit Pemilihan Mahasiswa Berprestasi UGM 2024 award, Bulan went back to her daily routine. She is currently working on her thesis, while also still participating in many competitions and positive activities. Bulan said she still wants to try competing in this event, if she has not graduated next year. She also encouraged other students to participate in the Pemilihan Mahasiswa Berprestasi UGM event, “For other students in the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, don’t be afraid to send your application! There are not many students in our faculty who are willing to participate in this event. Don’t forget to prepare all the documents early because of the short period of the submission. Always be humble, because being a Mahasiswa Berprestasi doesn’t transform you into the student with the highest position; you are just a representative.”