The awards night of the 38th Indonesian National Student Science Competition (PIMNAS) was successfully held on Thursday (Nov. 27) at the JK Arenatorium Gymnasium, Universitas Hasanuddin, Makassar. Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) achieved second place nationally, with a haul of 4 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze medals in the poster category, and 2 gold and 5 silver medals in the presentation category.
This result is a significant achievement for the 64 UGM students who persevered through the long journey from research to final presentation. The event concluded Indonesia’s largest student competition of 2025, involving 170 universities nationwide.
Dr. Arie Sujito, Vice Rector for Student Affairs, Community Service, and Alumni at UGM, extended full appreciation for the UGM contingent’s efforts over the past year.
He said that participating in PIMNAS is a process of strengthening students’ research capacity, presentation skills, collaboration, and academic tradition.
According to him, PIMNAS provides valuable intellectual preparation for students’ future academic and professional journeys.
“I appreciate their efforts because the value goes far beyond the medals,” he remarked.
Dr. Sujito explained that UGM’s achievement was the result of collective work among students, supervising lecturers, mentors, and the Directorate of Student Affairs.
He said the students’ research spirit and persistence deserve recognition as part of the university’s academic tradition. He viewed the competition as a way to hone his abilities and build a strong scientific mindset.
“What the students have done will be a valuable asset for their future,” he said.
Dr. Hempri Suyatna, Director of Student Affairs at UGM, expressed his gratitude to all mentoring teams and students who dedicated many months to developing their Student Creativity Program (PKM) projects.
He emphasized that this year’s results are part of a necessary learning process to strengthen UGM’s PKM guidance system. He added that more intensive mentoring and layered selection would be among the future priorities.
“We appreciate all students who have worked nearly a year for these PKM projects,” he said.
Dr. Suyatna added that sustaining student innovation remains a key concern for the Directorate of Student Affairs.
He hopes that the students’ work will not end at the competition level, but can evolve into products or solutions that have a real impact on society.
UGM, he said, will continue to encourage downstreaming of innovations through cross-unit collaboration and continued mentoring.
“The challenge is to keep students’ creativity alive and turn it into tangible contributions to society,” he said.
Beyond the competition aspect, UGM sees PIMNAS as a platform for strengthening student networking and knowledge exchange across universities.
UGM’s presence in Makassar was also supported by the South Sulawesi branch of Kagama, which assisted students throughout the event. The director said this experience enriched students’ perspectives on the meaning of academic collaboration and solidarity.
Although UGM did not win the overall title, the university sees the students’ journey and academic process as strategically valuable for strengthening scientific culture on campus.
PIMNAS 38 provided students with the opportunity to test their ideas, improve their presentations, and understand the dynamics of national-level competition. The medals earned this year are expected to further strengthen PKM guidance in the coming years.
“UGM is optimistic that the tradition of student achievements will continue to grow with better mentoring and collaboration,” Dr. Suyatna concluded.
Author: Triya Andriyani
Post-editor: Rajendra Arya
Photographer: Donnie Trisfian