As many as 59 people and teams receive UGM Achievement Award at Grha Sabha Pramana, Thursday (15/12) night. Various categories of award were presented by Rector, Prof. Ir. Sudjarwadi, M. Eng., Ph.D., to 13 alumni, 16 students, 14 employees, nine professors and seven researchers.
UGM has also awarded outstanding employees, educators, research field supervisors as well as lecturers in the field of student affairs. There are also awards for UGM partners.
Prof. Ir. Sudjarwadi, M. Eng., Ph.D said that in terms of value, the UGM award is very small, but he requested the recipients to value the award as a symbol of sincerity and great hope. "Hopefully, the award can inspire others," he said.
In his speech, he said that since the establishment of UGM, there have been many contributions being made for the progress of the nation. If other campuses also produce many outstanding achievements like at UGM, Indonesia will be more advanced. "If Indonesians are generally as advanced as the outstanding people here, Indonesia could be as advanced as Korea," he said.
The Rector also advised that the youth should not focus only on industry or government field. Distribution of work opportunities is very open such as in the field of spirituality, humanity, education, philanthropy or NGO’s and these can reinforce each other.
The young generation of UGM is also asked to take Indonesia’s leadership roles in the future to achieve the ideals of prosperity and vision of UGM. "One of the ways is to have determination and confidence to work in many areas and build networks," he said.
Committee Chairman of the 62th UGM Anniversary, Prof. Dr. Edy Meiyanto, M.Si., Apt., in the report said that the granting of achievement award is a series of Anniversary activities. "Three major activities this time are scientific programs, common programs and community service," he said.
Some of the outstanding alumni include Sapturi Sugiharto (entrepreneurship), Airlangga Hartarto (company leadership), Alpha Febela Priyatmono (culture and art), Arief Pamungkas (creativity), and Dwi Rovicky Putrohari (media).
Saptuari Sugiharto, owner of the Kedai Digital (Digital Store), expressed his gratitude for the award and this showed that entrepreneurship has been accepted by UGM. The alumnus of the Faculty of Geography said that when he was in college, entrepreneurship courses were not taught. "This is a remarkable progress that there is entrepreneurship training which is supported by UGM," he said.