SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada’s main goal in international collaboration is to enhance academic reputation as a global player in higher education. On 27 March 2024, Dr. Kelly Redeker from Department of Biology, University of York, UK and his former student, Dr. Yumechris Amekan were welcomed by our Head of Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Ir. Donny Widianto, Ph.D., along with Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Dr. Dyah Weny Respatie, S.P., M.Si; and our Faculty member, Prof. Ir. Irfan D. Prijambada. The meeting aimed to discuss and explore potential collaborations between Department of Agricultural Microbiology and University of York, UK. read more

The Department of Agricultural Microbiology held a podcast, titled “Exploring the Agricultural Microbiology Department,” which was broadcasted on the social media program Sapa Faperta on Friday, March 8, 2024. The podcast aimed to introduce the Department of Agricultural Microbiology to prospective new students of the Agricultural Microbiology Study Program, who are predominantly high school students. The hosts of the podcast were Khalid Wirawan, a student from State High School 1 Teladan Yogyakarta, and Angie Ira, a student from SMF Indonesia Yogyakarta. The speakers included Ir. Donny Widianto, Ph.D., the Chairperson of the Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Rizky Octavya, a student from the 2020 class of Agricultural Microbiology and former chairperson of PERMAHAMI, and Severinus Adrian, a new student from the 2023 class of Agricultural Microbiology. read more

On Sunday, March 3, 2024, the Microbiology Student Association (PERMAHAMI) held the Grand Launching of its new cabinet, named the Wangsaguna Cabinet. The Grand Launching of the Wangsaguna Cabinet was attended by several delegations from student associations of other study programs within the Faculty of Agriculture and the Student Executive Board (BEM KM) of the Faculty of Agriculture. The event took place at Rachmiwaty Building 12.1.1 from 08:00 to 10:00 AM local time. The word “Wangsaguna” itself originates from Sanskrit, consisting of two words, “Wangsa,” meaning Family, and “Guna,” meaning Beneficial. Therefore, the Wangsaguna Cabinet signifies a beneficial family, aiming for PERMAHAMI to become a home for agricultural microbiology students to actualize themselves according to their respective interests, benefiting not only the students but also society. The Grand Launching event also served as the inauguration ceremony for the new PERMAHAMI 2024 board members, inaugurated directly by the Chairperson of the previous period’s cabinet (the Nayakaharsa Cabinet), followed by the introduction of the new work programs of the Wangsaguna Cabinet, embracing the vision of making PERMAHAMI an organization based on family values and beneficial to its members. Various work programs aimed at achieving the Wangsaguna Cabinet’s goals include Study Learning Sessions with Micro (BBM), Microbiology Podcasts (Micropods), Micro Games, Social Sharing and Environmental Care, and many other exciting programs. read more

The Land of the Rising Sun, Japan, became the first international journey for Zikra Fathin Nabila. More affectionately known as Zikra, a Agricultural Microbiology student Class of 2021, had the opportunity to participate in a student exchange program at one of Japan’s universities, Ibaraki University, during the last semester of 2023/2024. The AIMS (ASEAN Internal Mobility for Students) program provided Zikra with the opportunity to experience studying abroad in a foreign land.

Countless stories marked the beginning of Zikra’s journey before she could finally qualify as a participant in the AIMS program. Feelings of self-doubt, unworthiness, fear of failure, and fluctuating motivation accompanied her first steps in applying for AIMS. Nevertheless, Zikra attempted to surpass all the challenges and limitations she set for herself. There is no harm in trying; the end result will become a story. Failure will become an experience. Success will become a new challenge that needs to be tackled. With determination and preparation, Zikra attempted to apply. Armed with her CV, TOEFL certificate, motivation letter, transcripts for 4 semesters, and several permission letters, she progressed to the first selection stage. It was beyond her imagination, but she passed and proceeded to the interview stage, eventually becoming an AIMS participant. read more

Three agricultural microbiology students from the 2021 class, Fathia Thaurika Rahma, Ani Fajar Dwi Sawitri, and Shinta Firdha Amalia, conducted Field Work (KL) at PT Industri Jamu dan Farmasi Sido Muncul Tbk from January 2nd to January 26th, 2024. The reason they chose PT Industri Jamu dan Farmasi Sido Muncul Tbk as their Field Work location is based on their interest and passion in the field of traditional medicine and pharmacy industry. Additionally, PT Industri Jamu dan Farmasi Sido Muncul Tbk is an internationally scaled company, so they believe that Sido Muncul can provide valuable knowledge and experience that they have not obtained before. read more

The student exchange program of the Faculty of Agriculture, UGM, at Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju, South Korea, is facilitated by the Asian International Mobility for Students (AIMS) program. Representing the AIMS GNU Fall Semester 2023 exchange students are Sausan Syadzafie Shafar, commonly known as Sausan, along with another student from the Faculty of Agriculture, UGM. The student exchange period at GNU was spent amidst the transition from cool late summer to windy autumn and early bone-chilling winter. Experiencing a temperate climate is certainly not common in tropical climates like Indonesia, making this student exchange opportunity highly valuable. The different climate also brings about a diverse biodiversity found in South Korea, which is quite different from Indonesia, presenting an intriguing aspect for a student of the Faculty of Agriculture. Classroom and extracurricular activities provided excellent opportunities to understand the essence of student life and South Korean society. read more

One of the Microbiology students from the 2020 cohort, Uways Irfany, commonly known as Uways, has just completed the Community Empowerment Learning Work Lecture (KKN-PPM) period IV of the year 2023/2024 in Paka Village, Satar Mese District, Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. This KKN activity is one of the compulsory courses that provide opportunities for students to directly apply their discipline in helping to address community issues. According to Uways, the KKN program encourages students to step out of their comfort zone, observe the challenges faced by the community, and contribute effectively to solving these challenges together with students from other disciplines as well as with the local community. Although the 50-day service period may seem very short, Uways believes it is enough to initiate positive change not only for himself as a student but also for the community to become more empowered. read more

Pradipta Guntur Putra, a 2019 Agricultural Microbiology student affectionately known as Dipta, has just completed his undergraduate research in Japan. This research was conducted at the Laboratory of Food, Life, and Environmental Science, Faculty of Agriculture (農学部), Yamagata University (山形大学), under the guidance of Prof. Toru Watanabe, Ph.D. His research titled “The Analysis of Functional Genes and Microbial Community Relevant to CH4 and N2O emission in Dent Corn Fields” was successfully completed and presented at the Joint Seminar, Eco-Science Course, Yamagata University, on August 7, 2023. read more

One of the Microbiology students from the 2020 cohort had the opportunity to participate in the “Sakura Science Exchange Program”. Arya Dharma Sanjaya, commonly known as Arya, was granted a golden opportunity to join the Sakura Science Exchange Program at Osaka University from October 22nd to October 28th, 2023. According to Arya, this program was not just an ordinary journey but his first trip abroad. The International Center for Biotechnology at Osaka University served as the venue for this adventure. In this program, Arya not only explored the academic world but also interacted with fellow exchange students from various countries. One interesting aspect of Arya’s experience in Osaka was the variety of activities organized. Firstly, there was an orientation session about the campus environment, where Arya was introduced to the advanced learning facilities. The well-organized campus provided an insight into Japan’s excellent higher education system. read more

Students from the Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Fika Tri Andaini (2020) (Fika) and Nur Afni Febriyani (2020) (Afni), had the opportunity to participate in the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) program in the form of Internship Learning Activities (MBKM-Internship) at the Coffee and Cocoa Research Center (PUSLITKOKA) from February 6, 2023, to June 16, 2023, precisely in their 5th semester. During their MBKM at PUSLITKOKA, Fika was placed in the Plant Disease and Pest Laboratory, while Afni was in the Plant Protection Laboratory. The MBKM-Internship program undertaken by Fika and Afni was equivalent to more than 20 credits in one semester. The courses equivalent for Fika and Afni had some differences, depending on the laboratory where they were placed. For Fika, there were 11 equivalent courses, including Microbial Development, Production, and Utilization; Soil Microbes; Pest and Disease Control; Development of Biological Agents; Identification of Pests and Diseases; Processing of Agricultural/Plantation Products; Quality Control and Quality Assurance of Agricultural/Plantation Products; Managerial Behavior; Field Work (KL); Seminar; and Leadership, while for Afni, there were also 11 equivalent courses, but there were 5 courses different from those taken by Fika, including Communication Skills; Processing of Agricultural/Plantation Land Fertility; Development, Production, and Utilization of Beneficial Microbes; Fundamentals of Coffee Biotechnology; and Fundamentals of Cocoa Tissue Culture. read more