Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) held a Talent Assessment for prospective students applying through the Talent Scouting for Outstanding Students (PBUB) Admission Track (PBUB) on Friday and Saturday, May 22–23, 2026.
This year, a total of 502 participants from 53 fields across sports, arts, science, and technology who had passed the first stage of selection competed to demonstrate their best abilities in hopes of being admitted to Universitas Gadjah Mada. As previously announced, the PBUB and Talent Scouting for Underprivileged Students (PBUTM) admission tracks account for around 10 percent of the total new student intake at UGM this year.
UGM Vice Rector for Student Affairs, Community Service, and Alumni, Dr. Arie Sujito, expressed his highest appreciation to the prospective students participating in the talent assessment. He stated that PBUB reflects UGM’s commitment to providing opportunities for outstanding young people from various fields.
According to Dr. Sujito, behind every medal, every achievement, and every victory in competition lies a long and demanding process. Through persistence in training, experiences of failure, and unwavering dedication, the participants have reached this stage.
“PBUB is not merely a university admission pathway. It is a recognition of the struggles of young Indonesians who continuously strive to develop their potential,” he said at GOR Nusantara on Saturday (May 23).
UGM’s Director of Student Affairs, Dr. Hempri Suyatna, also welcomed the participants who had gone through the extensive PBUB selection process. He noted that UGM will continue improving its student development system to ensure it becomes more structured and sustainable.
According to Dr. Suyatna, student quality is measured not only by academic achievement but also by the ability to collaborate, lead, demonstrate social awareness, and remain resilient in the face of challenges.
“We want to ensure that students have the opportunity to continue developing both academically and non-academically,” he said.
Representing the organizing committee, Ahmad Yuana explained that the basketball category in the PBUB assessment involved 67 participants and was held on Friday at the MM UGM Leadership Hall. The remaining 51 categories, involving 437 participants, were conducted on Saturday.
Yuana stated that this year saw a significant increase in participants compared to last year, along with the addition of several new categories, including handball, ice hockey, ice skating, dance, and pétanque. In previous years, the selected categories had to align with student activity units available at UGM.
However, this year, participants were allowed to apply as long as their competition field was officially recognized by the relevant governing organization.
“So, there are several categories that were previously quite uncommon at UGM. Nevertheless, we still accepted applications through those categories,” he explained.
The five categories with the highest number of applicants in this year’s PBUB talent assessment were basketball, with 67 participants; marching band and choir/vocal arts, with 44 participants each; taekwondo, with 43 participants; and pencak silat, with 36 participants.
Author: Leony
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Zabrina Kumara
Photo: Donnie