Yogyakarta, 9 September 2025 – The Center for Digital Society (CfDS) at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) Universitas Gadjah Mada celebrated its tenth anniversary under the theme “A New Era to Rethink Digital.” The celebration also marked the launch of the 2025 Digital Intelligence Course (MKKD), which carries the topic “Building a Human-Centered and Inclusive Digital Ecosystem.”

Since its establishment ten years ago, CfDS has consistently empowered communities through research and advocacy in digital transformation. One of its flagship initiatives is MKKD, a free digital literacy class initiated in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) in 2020. To date, MKKD has reached more than 40,000 participants and features instructors from across sectors, including academia, government, and industry. read more

The Undergraduate Program in International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL), Universitas Gadjah Mada, underwent an on-site accreditation assessment by the Independent Accreditation Agency for Social, Political, Administrative, and Communication Sciences (LAMSPAK) on Thursday (September 11). The two-day assessment, held on September 11–12, 2025, took place in Room BB 208, FISIPOL UGM Dean’s Building, using instruments and evaluation criteria based on several quality references for study program accreditation eligibility. read more

Yogyakarta, September 11, 2025—The Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), has successfully achieved UNGGUL (outstanding) accreditation for its Master’s Program. This accreditation is conducted by the Independent Accreditation Institute for Social, Political, Administrative, and Communication Sciences (LAMSPAK), which has developed assessment instruments and criteria that reference several quality standards as criteria for assessing study program accreditation eligibility. read more

Yogyakarta, September 10th 2025 – The Master of Communication Science Program at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) held a general lecture entitled “Digital Platform Hegemony and New Premises of Contemporary Communication Architecture” in the 4th Floor Auditorium of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) UGM. The event featured Janoe Arijanto, Chairman of the Indonesian Advertising Companies Association (P3I), as the keynote speaker, with Benyamin Imanuel Silalahi, a doctoral student in Communication Science at FISIPOL UGM, as the moderator. read more

Yogyakarta, 10 September 2025–The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is forcing the world to transform. Since the massive advancement of AI, disruption has emerged in various fields, including education. The Global Humanities Alliance (GHA) held an online seminar on using AI to support the learning process on Wednesday (3/9). The panel discussion, “Digital Transformations: AI and Teaching,” featured experts from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada. read more

Yogyakarta, September 9, 2025–Universitas Gadjah Mada officially inaugurates Prof. Dr. Drs. Dafri Agussalim, M.A. as professor in the field of global leadership and human rights diplomacy in ASEAN at the Department of International Relations.

The inauguration ceremony brought a speech titled “Building and Strengthening Cosmopolitan Nationalism for the Fulfillment, Advancement, Respect, and Protection of Human Rights”. In the speech, Prof. Dafri Agussalim highlighted the importance of global human rights protection as a part of our collective responsibility, irrespective of state borders, citizenship, socio-economic status, or other individual attributes. read more

Yogyakarta, September 9th 2025—The Center for Digital Society (CfDS) at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, together with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi), officially relaunched the Digital Intelligence Course (MKKD) in 2025 with the theme “Building a Humanistic and Inclusive Digital Ecosystem.” This event also marks the 10th anniversary of CfDS, which carries the theme “A New Era to Rethink Digital.”

MKKD is a digital literacy program that was initiated in 2020 and is open to the public free of charge. To date, the program has reached more than 40,000 participants and features instructors from various sectors, ranging from academia and government to industry. The presence of MKKD reaffirms the commitment of CfDS and Komdigi to building an open, equitable, and human-centered digital ecosystem. read more

FISIPOL UGM has once again added to its roster of Professors. Prof. Dr. Dafri Agussalim, M.A., lecturer at the Department of International Relations (DIHI), has been officially inaugurated as a Professor in the field of Human Rights Diplomacy in ASEAN and Global Political Leadership.

This inauguration marks an important milestone, not only for Prof. Dafri personally but also for FISIPOL UGM in strengthening its academic contributions at both the national and international levels. As a scholar who has long been engaged in the study of international relations, democracy, and human rights, Prof. Dafri underscored the importance of human rights diplomacy as an instrument to drive change in the region and to enhance Indonesia’s role in global political leadership. read more

Bevaola Kusumasari, Ph.D., a lecturer from the Department of Management and Public Policy (DMKP), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) UGM, has once again demonstrated her contribution to the international academic arena. She recently published a scholarly article entitled “Local Government Financial Performance and Decentralization in Indonesia.”

This publication examines the financial performance of local governments in the context of decentralization in Indonesia. Drawing on data analysis from 66 cities and in-depth interviews in 4 cities, the study highlights how financial performance measures—such as degrees of decentralization, independence, direct spending, and local revenue growth—are used to evaluate local financial governance. read more

One of the lecturers from the Department of International Relations (DIHI), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) UGM, Suci Lestari Yuana, Ph.D., has once again achieved international academic recognition. Together with her collaborators, she has recently published a scholarly article in the prestigious journal Annual Review of Environment and Resources, titled “Transformative Innovation Policy: An Analytical Review of Key Methods and Challenges.”

The article discusses Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP), a new generation of innovation policy designed to address increasingly complex social and environmental challenges—from energy and food crises to mobility systems that remain entrenched in unsustainable modes of production and consumption. The authors emphasize that merely improving technologies or financial instruments is no longer sufficient. Systemic innovations and transformative policies are needed to enable just transitions, ensuring both social justice and planetary health. read more