In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, six FISIPOL UGM university students grabbed a prize in the Administration Fair 2020 national competition. The first place was held by Izul Fikri Amal, Ardi Muhammad Rifqu, and Brilian Priatmaja. Meanwhile the fourth place was held by Alifandi Tranggono, Abdul Qoyumm, and Bhram Kusuma. Those winners are from FISIPOL UGM’s Public Policy Management Department.The competition that was held by Hassanudin University Social and Politic Faculty was stymied by the physical distancing regulation in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The five grand finalist team that went through the paper selection and had to go through several other processes had to be cancelled. The whole process was supposed to be held in Makassar, but the method was changed so that it can be done online. “One of the reason why our team want to join this competition is because we want to have a trip to Makassar. But, what can we do. Sometimes, we can only make plans.”, explained Bhram about his disappointment. The committee of the competition finally decided to have the national conference and focus group discussion virtually.
Though the line of events was done virtually, the team expressed their excitement in joining the FGD and other events. “It was very pleasurable because the moderator of the FGD was from a policy study institution and they were like a mentor to us,” said Izul. The same thing was expressed by Brahm. According to him, even though the event is held online, the FGD still expanded their knowledge. “We start to see how the students from other university have a unique perspective on a certain issue,” Brahm elaborated.
