Student organizations (ormawa) in universities play an essential role in developing soft skills, leadership, and collaborative work for students.
However, student leaders are encouraged to make these organizations more inclusive, achievement-oriented, sustainable in all activities, and provide tangible contributions to society.
This point was raised during the 2024 Student Organization Transformation Training organized by the Directorate of Student Affairs at Universitas Gadjah Mada (Ditmawa UGM), which took place on Saturday, (Oct. 26) at the 4th-floor Auditorium of the UGM Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol UGM).
The workshop featured five expert speakers in their respective fields: Dr. Hargo Utomo, Director of Business Development and Incubation at UGM; Gusti Grehenson, UGM News Coverage Coordinator; and Dr. Restu Tri Handoyo, Head of UGM’s Mental Health Task Force.
The other speakers were Walyono, the Head of the Subdirectorate of Facility and Infrastructure Maintenance, and Bambang Paningron, the Head of Community and Experience at the UGM Innovation and Creativity Center (GIK UGM).
Dr. Hempri Suyatna, Secretary of Ditmawa UGM, expressed the hope that in the future, ormawa will be able to develop a growth mindset and sustainability to enhance student self-development, achieve excellence, boost the university’s reputation, and prepare for future challenges.
“We want ormawa to advance and develop in line with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that have been set,” he said.
In his presentation, Dr. Hargo Utomo discussed the concept of startups. He also covered sustainability issues, opportunities for collaboration by leveraging individual skills and abilities, working with others, and social enterprises that benefit not only oneself but also many others through continuous innovation using technology.
He likened students to magnets in society, able to attract and become a source of energy or benefit to those around them.
“So, being an entrepreneur is not always about running a company or business, but about being a person who drives the community toward improvement,” he explained.
Gusti Grehenson delivered the next presentation, focusing on tips for writing good news stories. In addition to discussing the technical aspects of news writing, he revealed that publication is crucial because one of the performance indicators for student activity units is the number of publications related to sustainable development goals (SDGs).
He also mentioned that news published on UGM’s official website often serves as a reference for national media, impacting UGM’s public image.
Technically, he explained that good news must be new and unique, complete with the 5W+1H structure, including good photo composition, a compelling title, an interesting angle, and an engaging lead to attract readers’ attention.
To wrap up his session, Grehenson encouraged ormawa leaders to write frequently, especially for press releases about activities held by units and student communities.
The more they write, the better their writing skills will become. “Like a knife in the hands of a chef, the more you write, the sharper your skills will become,” he concluded.
In the next session, Dr. Restu Tri Handoyo presented “Understanding Mental Health, Sexual Violence, and Mental Health in the Campus Environment.”
He explained that mental health should be viewed on a continuum, meaning it is not just black and white or 0 and 1, but a complex issue in between.
He added that the campus environment should be a place for learning and a protective space for reducing risk and fostering growth for everyone involved.
“Learning should be enjoyable because it’s a growth process,” he explained.
He further emphasized that UGM hopes students will help maintain their peers’ mental health because relying solely on lecturers and staff would be limited.
They can create systems and services, but the ones monitoring and being around are the students themselves. He also encouraged students to be more aware of sexual violence occurring around them and explained UGM’s role and actions in addressing this issue.
In the second session, Walyono discussed “Waste Management at Universitas Gadjah Mada.” He explained how UGM manages waste, particularly before and after the closure of the Piyungan landfill.
He also discussed UGM’s waste management policies, which are based on a circular from the rector, and efforts to create a greener UGM campus environment.
He also touched on the risks associated with the use of AI, which is becoming increasingly common on campus, and how it affects the environment.
“Just one word processed by AI uses 10 times more energy than a single Google search,” he explained.
Finally, Bambang Paningron concluded the workshop with a session on “Event Management.” He explained the various types of events, what a curator is, and their role in event management, preparing for events, including SOPs and related matters, and implementing pre-prepared plans.
In his explanation, he emphasized the importance of preparation and being open to all possibilities that may arise on the ground.
Additionally, he highlighted two critical factors in any event: the content and its presentation—what will be delivered and how it will be presented.
Author: Leony
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afif