Yogyakarta, April 16, 2026 – The Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) hosted a benchmarking visit from the Agricultural Extension Study Program, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Halu Oleo (UHO). The meeting, held in Room S111 of the Soegondo Building, aimed to discuss preparations for international accreditation through ACQUIN (The Accreditation, Certification and Quality Assurance Institute).

The event was attended by the Dean of FIB UGM, Professor Dr. Setiadi, M.A., alongside the Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Dr. Nur Saktiningrum, S.S., M.Hum., and members of the FIB UGM Quality Assurance Unit (UJM) team. Meanwhile, Universitas Halu Oleo was represented by a delegation led by the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and the accreditation preparation team.

During the meeting, the FIB UGM team presented their experiences from undergoing the accreditation process in late 2025. This experience served as a crucial point of discussion because FIB UGM received high praise from international assessors for the quality of its facilities, curriculum, and study program readiness.

The Dean of FIB UGM, Professor Setiadi, stated that the key to success in achieving international accreditation lies in an institution’s ability to map its internal strengths. This significantly determines the assessors’ evaluation during the visitation process.

“During the ACQUIN accreditation process, FIB UGM maximized its various potentials as presentation material for the assessors,” Professor Setiadi remarked to the meeting attendees.

The two-hour discussion also covered technical steps regarding globally recognized educational quality standardization. The UHO delegation had the opportunity to explore the managerial and academic processes implemented at FIB UGM as a reference to improve the quality of their own study programs.

In addition to focusing on accreditation, both parties agreed that this meeting serves as a gateway for broader collaboration. Strengthening relationships between higher education institutions is considered necessary to spur new innovations in the educational sector.

“We must strengthen our future collaboration to mutually support the programs and innovations of each institution,” Professor Setiadi added.

This visit is expected to accelerate Universitas Halu Oleo’s preparations for achieving international recognition. This collaboration between higher education institutions reflects a shared commitment to maintaining sustainable educational quality, ultimately producing a generation with global competitiveness in the future.

[Public Relations of FIB UGM, Candra Solihin]

Yogyakarta, April 24, 2026 – The Department of Anthropology at the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Faculty of Cultural Sciences participated in an international workshop titled “Contesting Knowledge Formations: Towards a Transnational Research and Supervision Network.” Held in a hybrid format by the University of Münster, Germany, on Friday (24/4), the forum brought together researchers from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The primary agenda was to transform conventional doctoral supervision models into a more equitable, collaborative, and inclusive transnational network.

The event was officially opened by Professor Dr. Dorothea Schulz, Head of the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Münster, alongside Professor Dr. Thomas Stodulka, the program’s organizer and initiator. In their opening remarks, they emphasized the workshop’s vision of building a fair supervision network for doctoral students worldwide, transcending geographical and institutional boundaries. This two-day workshop serves as the inaugural activity for the network, funded by the DFG through the Cluster of Excellence scheme. The initiative involves the University of Münster alongside academics from Hekima University College (Dr. Norbert Litoing), Universitas Gadjah Mada (Professor Pujo Semedi and Dr. Elan Lazuardi), the National University of Singapore (Professor Kelvin Low and Dr. Noorman Abdullah), and the University of Birmingham (Professor Insa Nolte).

Immediately following the opening, the agenda proceeded to a PhD Roundtable session which ran until 1:00 PM Central European Summer Time (CEST). During this session, doctoral candidates from four universities presented their research projects to international moderators Dr. Victoria Kumala Sakti and Dr. Souleymane Diallo, both from the University of Münster. The discussion focused not only on scientific findings but also explored methodological challenges and aspirations for more effective cross-border supervision models.

Two doctoral students from the UGM Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Batari Oja and Mochammad Najmul Afad, presented their research at the forum. Oja presented her study, “Reproducing Chinese-Indonesian Cultural Identity in Klenteng,” while Afad shared his research titled “The Sinking of the North Coast of Java: A Historical Ethnography of the Relationship between Society and the Sea, 1800s–2020s.” Both students received constructive feedback from academics across the five participating universities to strengthen their dissertations.

As the evening session commenced in Indonesia, the discussions deepened. Professor Semedi led a group discussion inviting participants to formulate practical frameworks for international supervision. This session explored solutions for challenges related to distance, institutional disparities, and the equitable distribution of access to global research resources.

The session also identified several strategic ideas for developing a sustainable joint supervision network. Participants agreed that South–South–North collaborations require support structures that are not only technically robust but also sensitive to the local contexts of individual researchers.

The first day of the workshop concluded at 6:00 PM CEST with a reflection session led by Professor Nolte. She also outlined the strategic agenda for all network members moving forward. This meeting is expected to serve as a solid foundation for creating a transnational research ecosystem that is responsive to the dynamic knowledge challenges of the 21st century.

This workshop marks a significant step in strengthening the capacity of young Indonesian researchers on a global stage. The active involvement of UGM researchers is expected to bolster the position of Indonesian academics in the discourse on decolonizing knowledge and building equitable scientific partnerships between the Global South and the Global North.

Author: Mochamad Najmul Afad
Photos: Mochamad Najmul Afad & Pujo Semedi
Editor: Candra Solihin

Yogyakarta, April 22, 2026 — The Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, held a Javanese script font socialization event in Room Margono 402. This event was aimed at faculty and student representatives as an effort to increase understanding of the use of Javanese script in the digital realm.

This socialization was motivated by various obstacles faced by the academic community in using Javanese script fonts. Some of the problems that frequently arise include differences in keyboard layouts compared to the Latin alphabet, font illegibility on certain devices, indicated by the appearance of a tofu symbol or a box (an illegible sign), and differences in compatibility between keyboard layouts, such as Windows and Macintosh. These conditions are considered to hinder the use of Javanese script, even though this script plays a vital role in cultural studies and preservation within the study program.

To address this issue, this event featured Setya Amrih Prasaja, S.S., M.Pd., an alumnus of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, known as the developer of digital Javanese script fonts. Representatives from the Yogyakarta Special Region Cultural Office (Kundha Kabudayan) also attended the event, demonstrating their support for cultural preservation efforts through technology.

In his presentation, the speaker explained the process of developing Javanese script fonts and keyboard layouts, including the technical challenges faced in implementing them across various platforms. He also outlined the steps for introducing digital Javanese script at the national and international levels, as well as developing a system that can be operated on various devices. Furthermore, participants were introduced to several Javanese script fonts that are freely accessible without licensing constraints.

Through this activity, participants are expected to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the use of Javanese script keyboards and fonts in a digital context. Furthermore, this outreach is expected to encourage the dissemination of knowledge to the academic community and a wider audience, as part of efforts to preserve and strengthen the existence of Javanese script in the digital era.

Author : Haryo Untoro
Editor : Haryo Untoro

Kinarya Setyaning Tyas, an English Department student, shows that her major isn’t a limitation for learning and exploring her myriad of passions. As she entered her sixth semester, she was driven to seek an internship opportunity aligned with her interests. Her choice then fell on PT Taman Wisata Candi (TWC) Borobudur, Prambanan & Ratu Boko, which she believes can accommodate both her abilities as an English Department student and her particular interest in culture and arts. From there, she took initiative and applied for an intern position, where she began her delightful journey at Satuan Kerja Teater & Pentas Ramayana Ballet Prambanan.

In Ramayana Ballet Prambanan, Kinarya is part of the Sales and Attraction division, where she takes charge of uploading documentation and handling guests for the Ramayana Ballet. She explains her role thoroughly, from creating advertisements, handling social media—especially TikTok—and reporting social media performance. Kinarya noted that one of her accomplishments was when her TikTok content reached more than 340k views, attracting more people to attend the show. Outside of marketing, she is also responsible for reservations and being an usher, or among tamu, for the guests. 

So much to be done, so much to learn too. Kinarya confessed that when first applying, her motivation was to improve speaking and listening skills, which can only be polished by practice. Answering many questions and listening to the foreign tourist, she senses an improvement in her communication skills. “Especially when I handle British tourists, my listening skills are being tested because of the accent. So I’ve improved a lot,” she admits. 

Although she deals with a lot of tasks, she had so much fun during her internship experience. In fact, she even plans to extend her internship that was supposed to end in late April. Kinarya recounts the social environment in TWC, especially in the Ramayana Ballet Prambanan unit, which she describes as very friendly and supportive—from the staff, supervisor, and other interns. Having met her fellow interns from different majors and universities, she gets to share a lot of meaningful experiences together. 

Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean that Kinarya didn’t face any difficulties. During the first month, she doubted whether she could do this job alone. There is a lot of information that she needs to memorize: the flow of the show, the show’s schedule, the seating system, and even how to input the reservation data. “I also need to adapt quickly because I was only given three months here,” she utters. The struggle continued until the second month, during the peak season. “Because there is Eid Al-Fitr, we can even hold a show for eight days in a row, ” she explains.

After almost three months, Kinarya has gained many benefits from the internship as she gets to learn various skills outside of her major. She learns to analyze and report the social media performance of Ramayana Prambanan. “There are reports for Instagram and TikTok performance every month, their analysis, and also about marketing. It was quite apart from English Literature, but I learned a lot here,” she reflects. Kinarya also delves into content creation deeper, from planning to editing. She confesses that she never really did editing in a professional context, so she has improved a lot, “I learned so much in editing—the tools—and also about tech content like where to shoot, etc.” 

Kinarya also adds that, relating to her study, she gains a practical experience of interpreting and translating Indonesian—especially Javanese—culture and tradition. “So how do we translate the [cultural] terms to English? Then there’s the tolak bala procession, arak-arakan, we have to explain it to foreigners with an accurate interpretation,” she explains further. While she admits that it’s a bit challenging, it also fosters her cross-cultural understanding. “It makes me appreciate our culture more, especially Javanese culture,” she adds.

Her internship experience in PT. Taman Wisata Candi (TWC) is part of her effort to preserve our culture and heritage. “It’s like being a bridge, a mediator, an agent in cultural preservation,” she says. Furthermore, Kinarya notes how she also considered her future career when starting this internship. “I feel like I want to seek a career where it’s beyond handling a job desk; I want something more purposeful, meaningful, valuable,” she declares. 

Thus, Kinarya also shared her principle, “As an English literature student, don’t be afraid to explore more about other subjects. Don’t rely too much on one skill.” She chose her place of internship not by a matter of convenience, but she deliberately sought a gap where her interests met her skills and competence, which she found at PT. Taman Wisata Candi (TWC). Kinarya is aware that to explore and master other fields, learning by doing is the way to do it. “If I had never tried, I would have never known. If I didn’t make mistakes, I would never learn,” she concluded. 

Penulis: Gulma Zahra Auradatu

The Japanese Popular Culture course, organized by the Japanese Language and Culture Program, welcomed guest students to its class on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. The course instructor, Lili Febriyani, S.S., M.Si., invited students from various cohorts to provide reviews and feedback on the poster assignments prepared by each group.

The presence of guest students aims to enrich the learning process through a more diverse range of perspectives. In addition to receiving evaluations from the instructor and fellow students, participants also received input from students across different cohorts, including those who have and those who have not yet taken the course. Furthermore, this activity helped train students’ abilities to present ideas and respond to questions directly.

The guest students in attendance were from the 2021 and 2022 cohorts who had taken the Popular Culture course, as well as the 2024 and 2025 cohorts who had not yet taken the course. During this activity, the guest students observed and evaluated the posters presented by each group, focusing on design, clarity of content, and the ability to convey the material.

The posters created by each group explored the theme of the representation of heterosexual women in Japanese media, employing diverse visual approaches and analyses. Each group presented the content of their poster in detail and responded to questions posed by the visiting students.

At the end of the session, the visiting students shared their general impressions and evaluations through representatives from each class. This activity is expected to encourage students to be more open to diverse perspectives and to strengthen academic interaction among classes in the learning process.

Author: Nur Shafiyah Salma Putri