Thousands of UGM’s academic community participated in the National Education Day commemoration ceremony held at the Balairung courtyard on Thursday (May 2). The ceremony was led directly by the Rector of UGM, Professor Ova Emilia, as the ceremony’s officiator.
In her keynote address during the ceremony, the rector stated that the commemoration of National Education Day is an important moment to remember the contributions of the heroes who fought for dignified education for the Indonesian nation.
One of them is our National Education Father, Raden Mas Soewardi, commonly known as Ki Hajar Dewantara.
“Education is the foundation of nation-building. In addition to increasing knowledge and skills, education should be able to shape the character of individuals, imbued with moral and ethical values, and pay attention to preserving local culture, according to Ki Hajar Dewantara,” said the rector.
Since early education development, Ki Hajar Dewantara believed that students are active participants in the learning process. This principle is also embraced in the Merdeka Belajar program to reinforce student-centered learning implementation.
According to the rector, UGM has thus far built an inclusive, innovative, strategic, competitive, and synergistic education ecosystem, providing opportunities for students to develop their potential.
Since late 2023, UGM Online has been launched as an open online learning platform offering various learning programs such as micro-credentials, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and modular courses.
“The design of the UGM Online platform is aimed at providing access to quality education to a wide or inclusive audience,” she explained.
Furthermore, UGM is also intensifying the Fast Track program, which opens opportunities for undergraduate students to continue to the master’s level directly, increasing the number of postgraduate students and implementing double degree programs to explore collaborative research and learning development, student exchange in research and learning programs, and promoting teaching activities, to realize emancipatory education quality.
In addition, UGM has actively encouraged and accompanied students to participate in the Kampus Merdeka flagship programs, including assigning 1,055 interns and Certified Independent Study (MSIB) program students, making UGM one of the top 10 universities with the highest number of MSIB participants.
Moreover, UGM’s participation in the International Student Mobility Award (IISMA) program to various leading universities worldwide has increased from 168 students in 2023 to 237 students in 2024.
For the MBKM Mandiri program, UGM successfully organized eight learning activities in 2023 involving 9,073 students and 742 partners.
The rector affirmed that they would continue encouraging all study programs to accelerate MBKM Mandiri and strategic partners by facilitating study programs to obtain internal funding assistance from the Ministry of Education.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Photographer: Firsto