Yogyakarta, 24 August 2019—This edition of “Cross-Cultural Understanding Club (CCUC): Know Your City” was held at the beginning of the academic year. “Foreign students, as well as Indonesian students that originated from outside Yogyakarta, were introduced to Yogyakarta’s history on this programme,” as stated by Yusuf Dhimas, the Project Manager of CCUC in Fisipol UGM’s Global Engagement Office (GEO).

CCUC is GEO Fisipol’s monthly program and invited both foreign and local students as a platform for cultural exchange. CCUC usually visits historical and interactive places. In this edition of “Know Your City”, the participants visited three historical places in Yogyakarta; Pakualaman, Keraton Yogyakarta and Sonobudoyo Museum. read more

Yogyakarta, 23 August 2019—Prof. Dr. Jianbang Deng, from the Graduate Institute of Future Studies of Tamkang University, Taiwan, provoked the audience to predict the future. This Studium Generale, entitled “Future Studies in Sociology”, was held by the Department of Sociology. The lack of future studies-related resources in Indonesia motivated the Department of Sociology to organize this event. “At the same time, nobody can guess what will happen in the future,” Deng stated.

Deng opened the discussion by explaining several data published by Edison Research and the National Election Pool. These data focused on the demographic composition of the population of the United States during the last presidential election. These data were utilized by the campaign teams of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton widely. read more

Yogyakarta, 19 August 2019—Under a collaboration with the University of Melbourne, Fisipol UGM held a workshop in the form of focus group discussion entitled “Research Workshop on Political Islam in Indonesia and Turkey.” This workshop was aimed to provide a comprehensive discussion on political Islam in Indonesia and Turkey. This workshop was held on the 4^th floor of the Fisipol UGM building, from 9 am until 3 pm.

Indonesia and Turkey were chosen due to their similarities. In the contemporary era, both have experienced Islamic populism and radicalism. Historically, left-wing parties have also influenced the politics of both states. Research has shown that cities that were once dominated by left-wing parties in the past tend to shift to support Islamic parties today. This research workshop discussed further on this ideological shift. read more

Yogyakarta, 16 August 2019—The development of startup companies is affected by the growth Indonesia’s digital economy. Hence, BEKRAF for Pre-Startup (BEKUP) was held to strengthen the competencies of Indonesia’s startup founders and to integrate their businesses with the existing economic system.

BEKUP will be held in three cities. Bandung is the first city to be visited on June until August, while Yogyakarta is the second city to be visited, which will be held until October. Meanwhile, Bogor is the third city, in which this event will be held from October until December. BEKUP was designed to take two months to complete. This programme is consisted of five parts, which are bootcamp, team consultation, mid-evaluation, routine review journey and final evaluation. Competences such as business plan drafting, market analysis and prospective consumer observation are the focus in BEKUP. read more

Yogyakarta, 16 August 2019—The Uyghur issue cannot be merely seen as a form of “oppression of the strong against the weak.” Various social, political, cultural and psychological elements in the Chinese society has also influenced this matter. This topic was the focus of Beyond The Great Wall #4, which was held by the Department of International Relations last Friday.

“The decision-making process involves numerous actors that are always influenced by the existing social, environmental and historical aspects,” as stated by Irfan Halim, an expert in intellectual property rights from the Faculty of Psychology. At this event, he discussed the Uyghur issue using historical psychology and narrative psychology perspectives. Furthermore, Arindha Nityasari, a researcher from the Institute of International Studies UGM also presented a book review regarding artificial intelligence in China. read more

Yogyakarta, 6 August 2019—The new student orientation programme of Fisipol UGM, PPSMB Society, is an event held annually to welcome the new students to Fisipol. This year’s event was held for two days, from Tuesday (6/8) until Wednesday (7/8).Similar to the previous years, this year’s event featured several interesting activities. Introduction by the lecturers from the six departments, followed by an opening speech from Erwan Agus Purwanto, the Dean of Fisipol, opened this event. Erwan stated that Fisipol is ready to become the new home and family for the batch of 2019 students. Afterwards, the event was continued with a talk show entitled “Becoming Fisipol, Becoming Indonesia”, which was presented by two Fisipol alumni, Ria Papermoon and Zulfikar Arse Sadikin. This talk show was moderated by Mashita Fandia, lecturer at the Department of Communication Studies.

In addition to the talk show, the new students also participated in a focus group discussion regarding politics in everyday life. After that, an anti-harassment campaign, which was led by Ayu Diasti Rahmawati (lecturer at the Department of International Relations), Dina Wahida (psychologist from the Career Development Center) and Ulya Niami Efrina Jamson (lecturer at the Department of Politics and Government). This campaign was aimed to provide an inclusive environment for everyone in Fisipol.

The first day of PPSMB Society was closed by an exposition, which showcased 18 student clubs in the spheres of art, culture, religion, literature and others, as well as various research centres and student support services. read more

Yogyakarta, 5 August 2019—Adapting to a totally new academic environment is something that all students have to face, including foreign students in UGM. Held simultaneously with the new student orientation programme, GEO Fisipol also held an orientation programme for foreign students. This programme introduced several important institutions to the foreign students that will help them during their stay, which included OIA and GEO Fisipol.This programme was opened by I Made Andi Arsana, Ph.D., the representative from OIA. He explained various aspects regarding the visa arrangement procedures for the foreign students. The foreign students were also given a student ID card as an additional ID for their stay in Indonesia.

Afterwards, the foreign students were taught on how to take courses in Fisipol UGM. Classes from the Department of Public Policy and Management and the Department of International Relations were available for them. Foreign students can take classes that are under the International Undergraduate Programme or the Immersion Programme, and they are also able to take regular classes should they have a sufficient proficiency of Indonesian.

In addition, the foreign students were also introduced to the Buddy Club, which can help them in formal and informal matters. Several programmes of the Buddy Club include Welcoming Dinner, City Tour, Cultural Exposure, Garden Gathering and Farewell Party. In the Cultural Exposure programme, foreign students can experience making batik, visit other cities and interact with the locals. read more

Yogyakarta, 3 August 2019—During the welcoming ceremony for the new students from the batch of 2019, Fisipol held a meeting for the parents of the new students to introduce more about Fisipol, which took place in the West Hall of Fisipol UGM. This meeting was held in order to introduce the faculty members of Fisipol, which included the dean, the vice-dean, the senate, the lecturers and other faculty members to the parents.Erwan Agus Purwanto, the Dean of Fisipol UGM, was delighted to welcome the parents of the new students.  “Congratulations for the success of your sons and daughters in passing the entrance exam and be able to continue their studies in UGM, especially in Fisipol, a faculty that always produces exemplary graduates”, Erwan stated. read more

Yogyakarta, 30 July 2019—GEO Fisipol UGM’s SMU-UGM Summer Course Program was opened on the 28^th of July. This event was participated by students from both Singapore Management University (SMU) and Universitas Gadjah Mada. Participants of this event took part in cultural activities provided by GEO.

On the second day, the 30^th of July, the participants learned about small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia and ASEAN. This course also discussed regarding the 2025 ASEAN Economic Community. According to the course tutor, Dr. Dafri Agussalim, Gojek plays an important role in digitalising the Indonesian economy, particularly by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. read more

Yogyakarta, 24 July 2019—With the rapid development of new technologies, the government must always keep up with the current pace in order to pursue its national interests. Different states have different capabilities, in terms of both technology and institutional oversight. Thus, CfDS tried to analyse the possibility of the establishment of the Ministry of Digital Affairs in Indonesia.

This research, which was entitled “Opportunities for the Establishment of the Ministry of Digital Affairs in Indonesia” and was presented by four researchers from CfDS: Anisa Pratita Kirana Mantovani, Anggika Rahmadiani, Theodore Great Aipasa, Janitra Haryanto and Sri Handayani Nasution. read more