UGM welcomed students from the Merdeka Student Exchange Program (PMM) last week on Friday (Mar. 8) at the Sukadji Ranuwihardjo Auditorium, MM FEB UGM Yogyakarta Campus. This time, the fourth batch of PMM, consisting of 265 students from various universities in Indonesia, participated.
A student from Hasanunddin University, Makassar, Maria Dominika Mazzarello, was one of them. She expressed her heartfelt feelings upon entering the auditorium, which was filled with alma mater jackets from various universities in Indonesia, each in a different color.
“I am here among 265 PMM participants from diverse regions,” she exclaimed.
Maria Mazzarello said she joined the Nusantara Module to learn about Indonesia’s cultural diversity.
“I want to step out and experience learning opportunities at other universities while getting to know the surrounding cultures,” she said.
She chose UGM as the destination for the Nusantara Module because she wanted to experience the learning atmosphere at this iconic university in the city of students (Yogyakarta).
“In the past, I was always rejected by UGM. But now, thanks to PMM 4 and God’s grace, I can be at UGM and attend classes like a regular student, even if it’s only for one semester,” she explained.
At UGM, Maria attended classes at the Faculty of Animal Sciences for basic techniques of ruminant and non-ruminant livestock breeding, feed toxicology, introduction to tissue culture, and feed plant breeding, and at the Vocational College for occupational health and safety courses. She took classes that were different from her original focus on fisheries.
“It’s interesting; I get to experience the life of students at the Faculty of Animal Sciences and Vocational College, along with their learning and practical sessions such as tissue culture in well-equipped laboratories and practicals in basic techniques of livestock breeding where we gather livestock data by directly going to the field with local farmers.”
Another participant, Marliyanti, a Digital Business student from Muhammadiyah University Kendari, expressed her joy and enthusiasm in joining the PMM 4 at UGM.
“Finally, I can meet friends from various regions in Indonesia; before this, we only talked through WhatsApp,” she said.
At UGM, Marliyanti attended interdisciplinary classes focused on digitalization, such as digital transformation, digital start-up development, and digital business across three study programs: Accounting (Faculty of Economics and Business), Computer Science (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences), and Information Engineering (Faculty of Engineering).
She was interested in the values taught in the Nusantara Module: diversity, inspiration, reflection, and social contribution. She was very enthusiastic about exploring cultural locations, museums, places of worship, social service activities and cultural performances, volunteering at hospitals, and joining inspirational classes.
The welcoming event was opened by the UGM Director of Education and Teaching, Professor Gandes Retno Rahayu, followed by insights into the UGM Identity Values.
Desi Yulianti, Head of the Subdirectorate of Student Organizations, Facilities, and Welfare, Directorate of Student Affairs, also equipped the Nusantara Module participants with knowledge about governance and behavior and the facilities available at UGM.
The event concluded with the selection of the PMM Nusantara Batch 4 chief and deputy chief. Out of 197 votes, Gilang Pangestu from Ganesha Education University, Bali, was chosen as the chief. Krismando Viktor Sinaga from Mikroskil University, Medan, was selected as the deputy chief.
PMM Nusantara Module, initiated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, subsequently managed by UGM through the Directorate of Education and Teaching and participated in by students from various universities across the nation, is a manifestation of support for sustainable education in line with the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), specifically point 4, Quality Education.
Author: B. Diah Listianingsih