The National Student Scientific Week (PIMNAS) is an annual national scientific competition organised by the National Achievement Centre (Pusat Prestasi Nasional). In the 36th PIMNAS event held at Padjadjaran University on Thursday (30/11/2023), the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Student Team won double gold and silver medals. The team was led by Ilham Nur Rahman (Agricultural Industrial Technology) with members Abdila (History), Ilham Andriyanto (Cultural Anthropology), Hanieke Syahla (Cultural Anthropology), and Mia Fadilah (Biology). The team was mentored by Dr Aprillia Firmonasari, S.S., M.Hum., DEA.

This medal was won from their research entitled “Ethnobotanical Index of Rejang Tribe: Shifting, Inheritance, and Conservation Strategy of Local Knowledge Towards Food Security in Indonesia”. In the research, the team examined the shift and process of inheritance of knowledge of cultivation and utilisation of food plants in the Rejang Tribe, and used it as a basis for preparing a policy framework for food security. With an interdisciplinary research concept, the team combined the quantitative approach of knowledge index to detect knowledge shifts and ethnography to explore knowledge inheritance patterns.

On Saturday, 9 December 2023, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) held a short trip called Dolan Bareng event in Wanagama Forest, which was attended by FIB exchange students throughout Indonesia and international exchange students who are currently studying at FIB UGM. This activity aims to strengthen the bonds between students while providing an opportunity for refreshing after undergoing the end-of-semester exams.

The students departed from FIB UGM to Wanagama Forest using a bus. Upon their arrival, the group was warmly greeted with welcome drinks and snacks by the tour guide. While the students mingled and enjoyed their snacks, Prof. Dr Setiadi, M.Si., Dean of the Faculty, officially opened the event. The Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Dr Nur Saktiningrum, S.S., M.Hum, also gave a short briefing before the group started the journey through Wanagama Forest.

Following the path that had been prepared, the group of students explored the Wanagama Forest while getting to know the biodiversity in it. At the end of the trip, they were introduced to the typical Wanagama honeybee cultivation and invited to taste honey directly from the source. The activity was closed with lunch together before the group returned to the FIB UGM campus.

The Dolan Bareng event succeeded in creating valuable moments of togetherness amidst nature, involving students from various regions and countries. In addition, the Dolan Bareng agenda is in line with UGM’s commitment to accelerate the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) point 4, namely Quality Education.

On Friday, December 1st 2023, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) encouraged students who were in their final exam period (UAS). To ease the burden on the minds of their students, FIB UGM handed out free snack parcels along with the provision of small greeting cards. This initiative results from a collaboration between FIB and Suar Asa, with the hope of providing moral support to students who may be too fixated on preparing for exams and forget the importance of taking a short break.

The distribution of free snacks before UAS is considered a positive step by the faculty to support students’ mental and emotional well-being. FIB UGM is committed to providing quality education and paying attention to students’ overall welfare. This simple action from the faculty was warmly welcomed by the students.

“We feel supported and loved by FIB UGM, please do it more often” explained one of the students who received snacks during the distribution event.

The snack distribution agenda before the final exam period aligns with UGM’s commitment to accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point 3, namely Good Health and Well-Being.

On Monday, 27 November 2023, the Tourism Study Programme of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Universitas Gadjah Mada (Tourism Study Programme FIB UGM) received a guest visit from Management and Science University Malaysia (MSU). This visit is part of the University Visit activity which is held with the main purpose of conducting a comparative study between the Tourism Study Programmes of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM and MSU Malaysia.

The forum began with a warm welcome from Wiwik Sushartami, a representative of the UGM Tourism study programme, which was then followed by remarks from Nur Amirah, who represented MSU as a substitute for the dean. The first session of the schedule started with a brief presentation on the profile of Management and Science University (MSU). In this session, Mrs Nur Amirah gave a comprehensive overview of MSU (what is MSU, how is their remark in Malaysian education etc). Furthermore, the forum continued with art performances (dancing and singing) from MSU students. This art performance’s purpose entirely covers the richness of Malaysian culture.The next session from MSU was followed by an in-depth presentation on Malaysian culture delivered by their students.

After that, the Tourism Study Programme of FIB UGM introduced its study programme, including the profiles of several teaching staff who play a role in the formation of the next generation in the field of tourism. Interesting information was also delivered through presentations about Pancoh Tourism Village and Jogja Philosophical Axis by Tourism Study Programme students.

The QnA session was the highlight of the interaction between the students of Tourism Study Programme of FIB UGM and MSU. In this session, there were a lot of interesting questions asked by both Tourism study programme students and MSU students. Both sides showed great interest in each other’s culture. In closing, the University Visit ended with a group photo session and a short campus tour, giving a positive final impression and strengthening the relationship between educational institutions. This event not only opened up space for academic discussions but also enriched cross-cultural experiences for all participants.

The Asia-Pacific Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage is a triennial scientific meeting that was originally organised in Manila, Philippines by the Asian Academy for Heritage Management. The 2023 Asia-Pacific Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage will be held in Gwangju, South Korea, which is the 5th conference since it was first held in 2011. Asia-Pacific Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage 2023 with the theme “The Ocean Decade Challenges and the Maritime Cultural Heritage of Asia -Pacific” has a discussion panel session related to hot issues regarding the study of maritime heritage and underwater archaeology within the Asia-Pacific.

At this year’s conference, there were 26 panel sessions with researchers, academics and students from 40 countries with 300 participants presenting their research in maritime studies and underwater archaeological heritage in the Asia-Pacific region. Not only presenting, the researchers also published their research in the conference proceedings. In participating in the Asia-Pacific Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage 2023, a Master student of the Department of Archaeology (Muslim Dimas Khoiru Dhony) was awarded as The Best Student Paper with a paper entitled Underwater Archaeological Remains in Matano Lake, South of Sulawesi, Indonesia: Evidence of Iron Age Civilisation in session 15 on The Archaeology of Submerged Landscapes and Inland Waters. The paper is the result of research conducted by the National Archaeological Research Centre (now BRIN) for 6 years in collaboration with researchers who focus on each field to examine the development of the Iron Age in Lake Matano. The activity is also an effort to carry out Sustainable Development Programs (SDGs) such as SDG 4 (Quality Education) Culture, SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) Culture, SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) Cultural Heritage, and Community and Disaster Risk Reduction.