On Wednesday, November 2, 2022, at the KPTU Meeting Room, KPTU Building, Faculty of Biology, UGM, a briefing and release was held for students who will take part in Student Exchange activities at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). The briefing was attended by the Dean of the UGM Faculty of Biology, Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr.Sc, Caretaker Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Rina Sri Kasiamdari, S.Si. Phd., Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, Cooperation and Alumni, Dr. Eko Agus Suyono, M.App.Sc, Head of Undergraduate Program, Sukirno, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D., IUP Manager, Zuliyati Rohmah, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D ., Eng., OIA Manager, Nur Indah Septriani, S.Si., M.Sc. Ph.D., as well as staff and eight students participating in the Student Exchange.
In the meeting, Prof. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr. Sc. as the Dean of the Faculty of Biology, UGM, explained to students that the cooperation between UGM and UTHM, Malaysia was not a collaboration that had only been going on for a while. The founders of UTHM were UGM alumni including alumni from the Faculty of Biology, UGM. Students should be grateful and proud because they were selected as Exchange participants at UTHM, one of Malaysia’s best universities. Furthermore, Mrs. Rina Sri Kasiamdari, S.Si. Ph.D. also added that students should support each other while at UTHM. Further, Dr. Eko Agus Suyono, M.App.Sc. explained that the students were not only representatives of Universitas Gadjah Mada but also representatives of Indonesia. Therefore, students are expected to be able to maintain the good name of the country and institution while participating in the Exchange activities. Regarding academics, Mr. Sukirno, S.Si., M.Sc. Ph.D., as the Head of the Undergraduate Program at the Faculty of Biology, said he was ready to help convert marks from UTHM to UGM which might delay.
Of the eight students who attended the briefing, there were six students who and were ready to leave, which are Ghina Alyaa Khairunnisa Purnomo, Divkha Amanda, Mayland Muhammad Hanbal, Tsabitah Putri Asmalda, Adiva Aphrodita, and Zidni Meirizka Utami. Meanwhile, Delvi Sari and Rajendra Regaputra, they are still waiting for the visa process to be completed.
The event was then closed with the hope that the Student Exchange activities could run smoothly according to plan. The students are scheduled to depart the next day on Thursday, November 03, 2022. The students arrived safely and were greeted by UTHM representatives.[aa]