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

New Release: Megashift FISIPOL UGM Article
“Digital Orchestration for Indonesian Agriculture: From WhatsApp Workflow to Food Security”
By: Setiawan Guntoro

Megashift FISIPOL UGM has once again published an article that sparks discussion on the future of agriculture and food security in Indonesia. This piece highlights a simple yet revolutionary idea: how an everyday app like WhatsApp can become the backbone of agricultural digitalization.

The article sheds light on a long-standing issue in agriculture, particularly in broiler farming: the slow flow of field data from farms to management, which often leads to delayed and risky decision-making. Many agritech startups have failed because their applications did not match farmers’ habits. However, WhatsApp—used by 9 out of 10 Indonesians—emerges as an alternative solution. read more

New Release: Megashift FISIPOL UGM Article

“Satirical Comedy in the Digital Public Sphere: A Contemporary Form of Political Participation”
By: Ardi Muhammad Rifqi
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Megashift FISIPOL UGM has published a fresh article exploring how satirical comedy on social media has become a creative and powerful form of political participation in today’s digital era. Written by Ardi Muhammad Rifqi, the article dissects how humor, memes, and stand-up comedy content are reshaping political discourse in Indonesia.

The article highlights three main drivers behind the rise of satire: the accessibility of social media platforms, the growing popularity of stand-up comedy, and restrictions on free expression under regulations like the ITE Law. Within this context, satire emerges as a safe yet sharp tool for citizens to voice criticism and hold political actors accountable. read more

The Institute of International Studies (IIS), Department of International Relations, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), organized an enumerator training on Tuesday, August 26. This activity is part of a two-year research project titled Connect, Defend, and Act! (CDA), initiated by Hivos and the Humanis Foundation, with support from Norad – Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

The training was designed to equip enumerators with skills in data collection, coding techniques, and interview methods to monitor the condition of civic space and democracy in Indonesia. The sessions were delivered by Daniel Petz and Nadya Zafira, both experienced in research on civil society and human rights issues. read more

Dr. Nurhadi, lecturer at the Department of Social Development and Welfare (PSDK), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FISIPOL UGM), participated in a visiting scholar program at BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, from August 6–15, 2025. The program aims to strengthen international academic collaboration, particularly in poverty alleviation studies through the Graduation Approach.

BRAC University was chosen due to its close connection with BRAC International, the institution that pioneered the Graduation Approach in the early 2000s. Today, this method has become a global reference in poverty reduction strategies, including in Indonesia. read more

Two Sociology lecturers from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FISIPOL UGM), Oki Rahadianto Sutopo and Fuji Riang Prastowo, have contributed their latest academic work to an internationally renowned reference book, The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems.

In their chapter entitled “Young People and Inequality in Indonesia”, they examine how social inequalities in Indonesia generate a series of social, economic, and political challenges for the younger generation. Despite Indonesia’s high universal literacy and numeracy rates, social mobility remains limited, and youth wages are still low—particularly since more than half of the domestic economy operates in the informal sector. read more

Vandy Yoga Swara, lecturer at the Department of Social Development and Welfare (PSdK), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) Universitas Gadjah Mada, has recently published his latest scholarly work in the international journal Habitat International (Elsevier). The article, titled “River’s End: The Violence of Indigenous Riverine Urbanization in the Making of Indonesia’s New Capital,” was co-authored with Kei Otsuki and Femke van Noorloos (Utrecht University, Netherlands) as well as Michelle Kooy (IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education, Netherlands). read more

The Center for Digital Society (CfDS), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FISIPOL UGM), hosted the Information Resilience and Integrity Symposium (IRIS) 2025, an international academic and policy forum addressing the challenges of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI).

The event was held in collaboration with the Safer Internet Lab (SAIL)—an initiative by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Google Indonesia—together with CfDS FISIPOL UGM. IRIS 2025 provided a cross-sector dialogue space to respond to the impacts of GenAI on democracy, digital security, and social life across the Asia-Pacific region. read more

The Department of Politics and Government (DPP), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), in collaboration with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the Southeast Asia Parliamentarians Against Corruption (SEAPAC), convened the Bulaksumur Roundtable Forum (BRF) 2025 under the theme “Promoting Environmental Democracy to Counter the Climate Crisis.” The event was held at UGM’s Gelanggang Inovasi & Kreativitas Building and livestreamed through the DPP UGM YouTube channel and Pares.id.

The forum opened with a keynote speech by Helen Fazey, the UK Ambassador to ASEAN, who highlighted the importance of environmental democracy as a foundation for global governance in addressing the climate crisis. read more

The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FISIPOL UGM), held the Sansiro Fair 2025, a two-day event (August 19–20) at Taman Sansiro. The fair brought together all student organizations and activity units at FISIPOL to introduce themselves to the incoming students of the 2025/2026 academic year.

At the exhibition, new students were able to explore a wide range of opportunities for self-development—from student organizations in each department and Student Activity Units (UKM) in arts, spirituality, research, and knowledge, to special service units such as mental health support and career development. read more