Yogyakarta, March 9, 2026—The Bala Gadjah Mada Team from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), is promoting sustainable waste management in the communities of North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, to address the surge in waste in the buffer zone of the Indonesian Capital City (IKN).

Bala Gadjah Mada has promoted “Strengthening the Waste Bank Community” as its social project to address this waste problem. One of Bala Gadjah Mada’s members, Kholifa Tata Suharta, stated that the development of the IKN has impacted the surrounding areas, including the Pemaluan Village. He explained that the volume of waste has increased, while waste management capacity still relies on incineration or burial. read more

Yogyakarta, January 22, 2026─The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) of  Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) sent off the National Capital Expedition Team on Wednesday (January 22) at the Faculty’s Dean’s Office. The team will conduct social research in Penajam Paser Utara Regency, East Kalimantan, as part of the students’ academic contribution to development and environmental issues.

The IKN Expedition Team consists of 12 students from five study programs under the Faculty Student Activity Unit Sentrajana. During this expedition, the team will conduct social research in two villages: Pamaluan and Bumi Harapan, with a focus on understanding and identifying environmental issues arising from the development of the National Capital area on the surrounding community. In addition to social research, the team will also conduct various educational campaigns to raise public awareness and concern for the importance of environmental sustainability. read more

Yogyakarta, October 27, 2025—The Academic Innovation unit of Fisipol UGM has initiated a new course titled “Forest Carbon Literacy 2025” on the FOCUS platform. The launching ceremony for the new course invited three speakers, as well as a module writer from the Forest Carbon Literacy 2025 course, that is Wahyu Yun Santoso (Lecturer at Fakultas of Law UGM), Budi Mulyana (Lecturer at Faculty of Forestry UGM), and Sarah Wibisono (Sustainability Consultant).

This year, the course is created with the intent to focus on the management of forest on the international level, emphasizing through cross-border comparison in understanding the best practices, as well as failures management of forests in other areas. In the making of this course, Fisipol UGM, through the Academic Innovation Unit, collaborated with UGM’s Faculty of Forestry, Faculty of Law, Chakra Giri Energi Indonesia, and Oxfam.  read more

The Soenario Kolopaking Team from the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has won first place in the National Student Scientific Article Competition at the Sociology Competition of Unesa (SOCIUS) 2025, organized by Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA). The competition ran from June 10 to August 3, 2025, and was participated in by eight universities from across Indonesia.

The Soenario Kolopaking Team consists of Nurima Setianingrum and Afkaar Nabil Falah. Under the guidance of Gregorius Ragil Wibawanto, M.A., the team successfully presented their scientific paper titled “The Public Between the State and the Market: The Struggle of Female Online Ojek Drivers in Layered and Persistent Vulnerability.” 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

In its development, Ecoxyztem has mapped out the main problems encountered when pioneering ecopreneurship. First, there is a methodological knowledge gap—a lack of in-depth understanding of information, particularly regarding business value mismatches, a lack of literacy regarding investment and equity, etc. Second, there is a lack of access to risk capital—start-ups need investor encouragement to accelerate their planned programs. Third, it is challenging to navigate market barriers. Many cases show that product makers cannot create products that meet market demand, making it difficult to penetrate the market. 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

Yogyakarta, 6 August 2025 — The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) at Universitas Gadjah Mada hosted the selection process for village officials (pamong) of Guwosari Village, Pajangan District, Bantul Regency. Held at the Big Data Room and the PolGov Meeting Room, this activity reflects the tangible contribution of the Department of Politics and Government (DPP) at FISIPOL UGM in strengthening inclusive, participatory, and high-quality village governance.

The selection opened four positions: three hamlet chiefs (dukuh) and one kamituwa. The process involved multiple stages, including psychological testing, written exams, in-depth interviews, and the delivery of speeches in Javanese. Each stage was designed to assess candidates’ personal competencies, administrative capacity, and understanding of local culture. read more

Yogyakarta, 6 August 2025 — One of the highlights of the opening day of PIONIR SOCIETY 2025 was Jelajah FISIPOL, an interactive learning activity designed to comprehensively introduce new students, known as Gamada, to the FISIPOL UGM campus environment.

In this program, Gamada were guided by co-facilitators as they explored various corners of the faculty. The route began at FISIPOL Smart Park, continued to Sansiro Park, an open green space often used by students for discussions, relaxation, or informal gatherings. read more