Yogyakarta — Representing the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), PKM-PM Litera-Wayang team has secured funding for the 2026 Student Creativity Program. The grant was officially announced by the Directorate of Learning and Student Affairs (Belmawa) on May 23, 2026.

The project, titled “PKM-PM Litera-Wayang: Peningkatan Kreativitas Siswa Pedalangan Melalui Transformasi Literasi Manuskrip Kuno Pakem Grĕntĕng di SMK Negeri 1 Kasihan”, focuses on boosting creative skills among vocational students through media adaptation. It aims to revitalize Pakĕm Grĕntĕng, an ancient puppetry (pedalangan) manuscript native to Kulon Progo that is rich in local wisdom but currently facing extinction.

To achieve these goals, the Litera-Wayang team launched a series of structured activities for puppetry arts majors at SMKN 1 Kasihan. Program phases include workshops on ancient manuscript adaptation, script-dissection discussions, leather puppet crafting training, and a culminating student-led shadow puppet performance. To ensure effectiveness, quality assurance is maintained through regular evaluations and progress tracking to monitor student skill development.

Beyond field activities, the team developed a comprehensive guidebook to ensure project sustainability. This module enables the school to independently continue transmitting knowledge of Pakem Grenteng and can be integrated into the school’s curriculum as complementary learning material.

Securing this grant marks a strategic milestone for UGM students to deliver a tangible impact to the community. By leveraging manuscript literacy transformation, this initiative boosts youth creativity while preserving local cultural heritage to keep it relevant in the modern era.

Author: Tim PKM-PM Litera-Wayang

Depok, August 28, 2026 — Achmad Rio Dessiar, Ph.D., Head of the Korean Language and Culture Study Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), served as a guest speaker at the Academic Seminar titled “20 Years of Korean Studies in Indonesia: Reflection and Future Collaboration.” The event was organized by the Korean Language and Culture Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia (FIB UI).

Held on Friday, August 28, 2026, at the Toeti Heraty N. Roosseno Auditorium, FIB UI, the seminar was part of the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Korean Language and Culture Study Program at FIB UI. The event provided an academic platform to reflect on the development of Korean Studies in Indonesia over the past two decades and to discuss future opportunities for development and collaboration.

During the event, Achmad Rio Dessiar delivered a presentation titled “The Development of Translation Technology: Utilizing AI Technology.” His presentation explored the evolution of translation technology and the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in modern language translation processes.

In his remarks, he explained how translation technology has continuously evolved, progressing from rule-based translation systems to AI-driven translation technology. The advent of Neural Machine Translation (NMT) and the advancement of Large Language Models (LLM) have significantly transformed how translation is conducted, improving both the quality of the output and the efficiency of the process.

These advancements hold significant implications for foreign language education, including Korean language education in Indonesia. Today’s students must not only possess strong linguistic and translation competencies but also understand how to utilize AI technology critically, accurately, and responsibly. AI technology should not be viewed merely as a replacement for human translators, but rather as a tool that can enhance productivity while opening new avenues for developing translation skills.

Through this presentation, participants were encouraged to recognize that the future development of Korean Studies in Indonesia must also adapt to technological changes. Integrating AI technology into education, translation, and research represents a potential area for development through collaboration among institutions offering Korean Studies in Indonesia.

The participation of the Head of the Korean Language and Culture Program at FIB UGM in this event is also part of an ongoing effort to strengthen academic networks between UGM, UI, and various institutions developing Korean Studies across Indonesia. It is hoped that the 20th-anniversary milestone of the Korean Language and Culture Study Program at FIB UI will further strengthen collaborative education and research in Korean Studies, particularly in responding to the future developments of technology and artificial intelligence.

Author: Achmad Rio Dessiar

The Japanese Language and Culture Study Program at Universitas Gadjah Mada welcomed a visit from Ms. Keiko Kawana on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. During the visit, Ms. Kawana had the opportunity to meet and get acquainted with members of the study program and several lecturers. She also presented a Japanese translation of Hujan, a novel by Indonesian author Tere Liye, as a gift. The novel was translated into Japanese by Ms. Keiko Kawana and Ms. Yuri Kiyooka. In addition to the translated book, they also presented a furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth commonly used to wrap and carry various items, including bento boxes.

In addition to discussing the translation of Indonesian literary works into Japanese, Ms. Kawana, who also has experience teaching shodou (Japanese calligraphy), had the opportunity to view the shodou equipment owned by the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program. The visit provided an opportunity to strengthen connections and exchange experiences in the fields of language, literature, and Japanese culture.

Author: Barra Taura Nursaid

Yogyakarta— The Literary Camp with Nature and the Universe, organized by the Master’s Program in Literary Studies at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), at Pondok A. Salam, Kalimasada, featured a Literary Oration session on Friday evening, August 14. Beginning at 7:30 p.m., the session brought together two speakers from the academic community of FIB UGM: Muhammad Lutfi Dwi Kurniawan, a doctoral student in Humanities at FIB UGM, and Rini Febriani Hauri, a master’s student in Literary Studies at FIB UGM.

The Literary Oration was an important part of the camp, providing a space for reflection on literature, the relationship between humans and nature, technological developments, and the future of the humanities.

In his presentation, “Unveiling the Pulse of the Text: Biopoetics and the Crisis of the Human–Nature Boundary in Literature,” Muhammad Lutfi Dwi Kurniawan introduced biopoetics as a way of exploring the relationship between life, human beings, nature, and literary works.

Broadly speaking, biopoetics is an interdisciplinary approach that brings together biology—the study of life—with poetics, literature, the arts, and other forms of creative expression. It opens up a way of understanding literature not simply as a product of language and culture, but as part of a wider conversation about life and humanity’s relationship with the biological world around us.

In his presentation, Lutfi offered the Achilles tendon as an intriguing example. This important part of the human body connects the calf muscles to the heel bone. The name Achilles comes from Achilles, the legendary Greek hero immortalized in Homer’s epic Iliad. The example illustrates how traces of literature and mythology can become embedded in the language through which human beings describe and understand the world—even in scientific terminology.

From this perspective, biopoetics becomes particularly relevant as the boundary between humans and nature is increasingly being questioned. Literature can provide a space to explore how people understand life, how nature is represented, and how relationships between humans and other living beings are shaped through language, imagination, and experience.

The theme “Unveiling the Pulse of the Text” thus takes literature into a broader intellectual territory, bringing textual studies into conversation with questions of life and the environment. Biopoetics allows literature to engage with scientific knowledge while also inviting us to reconsider the human position—not as something entirely separate from nature, but as part of a larger web of life.

Meanwhile, Rini Febriani Hauri presented “Reading Literature in the Age of Algorithms: Experience, Interpretation, and the Future of the Humanities.” Her presentation invited participants to reconsider the experience of reading literature amid rapid digital transformation and the relentless flow of information.

During her presentation, Rini quoted Franz Kafka:

“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.”

The quotation offered a starting point for thinking about reading as more than an act of gathering information. Reading can be an experience that moves us, unsettles us, and even transforms the way we understand ourselves and the world.

In a digital culture increasingly defined by speed, where information arrives continuously and algorithms help determine what we see and read, Rini encouraged participants to read slowly. The invitation to slow down becomes a form of pause, and perhaps even a quiet resistance to the pressure to move constantly from one piece of information to another and to form immediate judgments.

Reading slowly gives the reader space to allow a text to work its way inward. It creates an opportunity to attend to language, discover layers of meaning, question one’s own experience, and encounter interpretations that might otherwise be missed in hurried reading.

In the age of algorithms, the experience of reading therefore becomes increasingly significant. As technology becomes capable of producing, circulating, and processing an almost limitless amount of text, the human capacity to read, feel, interpret, and make meaning remains something worth preserving.

Together, the two presentations brought into focus two important questions facing contemporary literature: the relationship between humans and nature, and the relationship between humans and technology. On the one hand, biopoetics invites us to reconsider the boundary between humanity and the living world. On the other, the discussion of literature in the age of algorithms asks us to consider how technology is reshaping the experience of reading and interpreting literary works.

Bringing these two themes together broadened the intellectual scope of the Literary Camp. Literature was not treated merely as an activity of reading and writing, but also as a space for understanding a changing world, questioning the boundaries of human experience, and reconsidering the future relationship between humans, nature, and technology.

Held at night, the Literary Oration also formed an integral part of the distinctive atmosphere of the Literary Camp. After spending the afternoon outdoors and experiencing the natural surroundings of Kalimasada, participants gathered to listen, discuss, and exchange perspectives on literature and the wider questions of human life.

The Literary Camp thus offered more than an opportunity to camp and socialize. It created an intellectual space where literary works, ideas, nature, science, technology, and human experience could meet within a single shared experience.

Author: Khotibul Umam

The first stage of the Community Service Program (PkM) entitled “Polite and Responsible Social Media Use among Adolescents,” organized by the Master’s Program in Linguistics, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), was successfully held at SMA Negeri 1 Depok, Sleman. The activity was enthusiastically attended by students and featured a series of educational activities focusing on polite, wise, and responsible social media use.

The activity began with a report on the implementation of the program delivered by the Head of the Master’s Program in Linguistics, Dr. Hayatul Cholsy, S.S., M.Hum. The report outlined the implementation of the program and its objectives, particularly in raising adolescents’ awareness of the importance of politeness in communication on social media.

Following the report, Drs. H. Tri Nardono, Public Relations Vice Principal of SMA Negeri 1 Depok, expressed his appreciation for the implementation of the program. He also welcomed the collaboration between SMA Negeri 1 Depok and the Master’s Program in Linguistics, FIB UGM, as a joint effort to provide students with guidance on using social media wisely and respectfully.

Before the main session, students completed a pretest designed to map their social media habits and experiences. The results provided an initial overview of social media use among the students and supported the delivery of materials that were relevant to their experiences and needs.

The main session on polite social media use was delivered by Prof. I Dewa Putu Wijana, S.U., M.A., with Dr. Wira Kurniawati, S.S., M.A. serving as the moderator. Through the session, students were encouraged to understand the importance of using polite, thoughtful, and responsible language when communicating in digital spaces.

The activity continued with group dynamics, during which students developed ideas and prepared creative follow-up projects. Working in groups, the students created flyers or videos under the theme “Jarimu Harimaumu!” (“Your Fingers, Your Responsibility!”). Through these works, students were encouraged to convey messages about the importance of thinking carefully before posting, commenting, or sharing information on social media.

All student works will be presented during the evaluation activity scheduled for 10 August 2026. The evaluation will form part of the PkM series and will provide an opportunity to assess the students’ understanding and creativity while allowing them to communicate messages about polite and responsible social media use through their own works.

Through this program, the Master’s Program in Linguistics, FIB UGM, continues to contribute to the development of language and digital literacy among adolescents. The collaboration with SMA Negeri 1 Depok is expected to serve as a meaningful step toward fostering a culture of polite, critical, and responsible communication in digital spaces.

The PkM program will continue with the next stage, featuring the evaluation and presentation of the students’ works. We look forward to seeing the students again in the next stage of the program!

Author: Magister Linguistik