On Saturday, 6 March 2024, the Garden Architecture Study Group (KSAT) organized a small group discussion (SGD) 1: Plant Diversity (Ketam) as a series of academic activities for Seedling KSAT in the form of teaching by the Sub-Division of science of plant diversity aimed to enhance the seedling KSAT knowledge. The SGD began with an opening by Mirmastu Lintu, followed by prayer and discussion. The material presented was about the basics of plant systematics delivered by Rafli Nur Muhammad Fahrezi and herbarium-making by Safina Suci Samara. The activity proceeds with a herbarium-making session guided by Johs Carlo, Muhammad Meshal, and Awanda Nurvi Adifa to deepen understanding of the Seedling about the herbarium-making process. The Seedling was assigned to create herbariums to implement the knowledge they acquired. The SDG concluded with prayer and documentation. The SGD 1 Plant Diversity KSAT in 2024 went smoothly and on time. The hope is that this activity can provide a fundamental understanding of plant systematics and herbarium making to Seedling KSAT. Additionally, it is hoped that KSAT will further establish itself as strongly rooted in penetrating civilization and thus can be a study group that is beneficial to the academic environment and the wider community.

On Tuesday, 27 February 2024, the Marine Study Group (KSK) Faculty of Biology UGM organized socialization on work programs of the new cabinet at the Biologi Tropika Auditorium Faculty of Biology UGM. The event was attended by Abdul Razaq Chasani, Ph.D. as KSK advisory lecturer, representatives from study groups/institutions in the Faculty of Biology, representatives from Universitas Gadjah Mada Diving Society, and KSK members.

The event commenced at 16.15 WIB, guided by Asy Syifa Paras Ceria and Jagad Wenang Suryoaji. The event began with opening and prayer, followed by singing Indonesia Raya, Universitas Gadjah Mada hymn, and KSK March, and continued with remarks from Abdul Razaq Chasani, Ph.D., KSK advisory lecturer.

The series of main events started with the reading pledge and inauguration of 2024 KSK daily management by Ariq Alfito as 2024 KSK chairperson, continued with a presentation of accountability report and resignation requirements of 2023 KSK cabinet by A. Najib Dhiaurahman as 2023 KSK chairperson. The event proceeds with the introduction of the new cabinet, namely the Vimudha Darshaka cabinet, and its work programs to be implemented for one-year management. The event was closed by MC at 17.30 and concluded with documentation.

[PkM – MBKM]- Yogyakarta, March 9, 2024 – The Community Service Team of the Independent Learning – Independent Campus (PkM-MBKM) Faculty of Biology 2024 in Sendari Hamlet, led by three lecturers, Novita Yustinadiar, M.Sc., Woro Anindito Sri Tunjung, Ph.D., and Wahyu Aristyaning Putri, Ph.D., along with 13 student members, has implemented the first program in the series of PkM-MBKM activities in Sendari Hamlet. This first program focuses on the theme of OneHealth, aiming to address intricate public health issues by integrating aspects of human, animal, and environmental health. This program took place in Sendari Hamlet, Cebongan, Tirtoadi, Sleman, DI Yogyakarta, started from 15:30 to 17:30 WIB, at the residence of the Head of RT.03. The main objective of this socialization is to empower the community of Sendari Hamlet, Cebongan, Tirtoadi, Sleman by applying the concept of OneHealth in daily life to enhance personal and environmental health.

This socialization was attended by the women members of PKK and was opened with a welcoming speech by Mrs. Nelvi, representing the women of Sendari Hamlet. She expected that this socialization would be conveyed in an easily understandable and would benefit the improvement of public health in Sendari, followed by a speech from Novita Yustinadiar, S.Si., M.Si. She explained that the PkM-MBKM program had been initiated since last year and would be continued with various future programs.

The material was delivered by Wahyu Aristyaning Putri, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D., who explained infectious and non-infectious diseases, as well as the prevention, such as effective waste management, healthy and balanced dietary habits, stress management, adequate rest, regular physical activity, and so on. Participants were also asked to schedule weekly physical activity and guided in planning balanced suhoor and iftar menus. The PkM-MBKM team also provided solutions related to stress management through breathing exercises and energy gymnastics. The activity concluded with door prizes for active participants with high pretest scores. The hope is that this socialization will broaden insights to the participant and contribute to transforming the family lifestyles to be healthier.

Yogyakarta, March 8, 2023 – The Faculty of Biology received a visit from three MBKM (Independent Learning – Independent Campus) partners. The event took place in the KPTU Meeting Room of the Faculty of Biology, UGM, welcomed by Prof.Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr.Sc., the Dean of the Faculty of Biology. Also in attendance were representatives from LAZNAS Yatim Mandiri, the Jaringan Satwa Indonesia Foundation, and Bumi Sembada Waste Bank, as well as biology faculty members involved in the collaboration, including Wahyu Aristyaning Putri, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D., from the Biotechnology Laboratory; Novita Yustinadiar, S.Si., M.Si., from the Plant Development Structure Laboratory; and Dr. Dwi Sendi Priyono, S.Si., M.Si., from the Animal Systematics Laboratory.

Yatim Mandiri is a National Zakat Amil Institution owned by the Indonesian community, dedicated to uplifting the social dignity of orphans through ZISWAF funds (Zakat, Infaq, Shadaqah, Wakaf), as well as another lawful and legitimate fund, from individuals, groups, companies/institutions. Yatim Mandiri has established 46 service offices in 14 provinces in Indonesia. With its various self-reliance programs, Yatim Mandiri hopes to improve and spread its benefits widely. The Jaringan Satwa Indonesia Foundation is the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, known as JAAN, founded in February 2008 by Femke den Haas, Karin Franken, and Natalie Stewart as a platform for the community to report cases of animal abuse or to obtain information about animal welfare in Indonesia. Meanwhile, Bumi Sembada Waste Bank was founded in 2023 in Sukoharjo Padukuhan Besi Village, Sleman. There are 75 types of waste that the community can sell to the waste bank, with the expectation that the community will be more enthusiastic about sorting waste to improve the economy and help address the waste issues.

The purpose of the visit was to establish cooperation with the Faculty of Biology through the MBKM scheme, with three agreements for each partner. Professor Budi welcomed the initiation and expected that this cooperation would benefit all parties involved.

With the establishment of cooperation with these three partners, UGM’s Faculty of Biology hopes that the knowledge of biology can be beneficial to the wider community and also contribute to sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly in the development of inclusive education (SDG 4) and sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), through continuous collaboration and partnership building to achieve the goals (SDG 17).

On Sunday, 3 March 2024, the Grand Launching of Biology Student Executive Board, Universitas Gadjah Mada was held from 12.00-17.00 WIB at the Tropical Biology Auditorium, Faculty of Biology UGM. This activity was attended by two representatives of each study group and organization of the Faculty of Biology UGM, 61 student representatives from various student executive boards, student associations, or institutions of Universitas Gadjah Mada. This activity was also attended by representatives from the biology student association of Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, the biology student association of Universitas Islam Sunan Kalijaga, and the biology student association of Yogyakarta State University.

The Grand Launching was guided by the MCs, namely Syarifathunnisa Iryanti and Muhammad Haidar Ali. This activity began with an opening and prayer, then continued with singing Indonesia Raya, the Gadjah Mada Hymn, and the Faculty of Biology March. The activity continued with a series of remarks from Thasya Arini Salsabila as field coordinator of the Grand Launching, and Muhammad Nurul Fathoni Adha as chairperson of the 2024 Biology Student executive board UGM. The activity proceeded to the main event, which was the symbolic representation of BEM Biologi UGM, led by the chairperson of BEM Biologi UGM 2024, Muhammad Nurul Fathoni Adha, followed by a presentation from each department in BEM Biologi. These presentations introduced the objectives of each department, its organizational structure, and its work programs. The Department presentations were divided into three sessions: Session 1 was General Administration, Session 2 was Household Affairs and Student Potential Development (KP2M), and Session 3 was External Affairs Movement and Community Service (EP2M).

Starting with Session 1, General Administration included the Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Treasurer, followed by Session 2, Household Affairs and Student Potential Development (KP2M), which consisted of the Department of Human Resources Development, Department of Organizational Development, Department of Interests and Talents, Department of Scientific Development, and Department of Creative Economy. This was followed by Session 3, External Affairs Movement and Community Service (EP2M), which included the Department of Public Relations and Networking, Department of Media and Information, Department of Social and Community, Department of Public Opinion Management, and finally, the Department of Advocacy and Student Welfare.

The Grand Launching event also featured performances by Biotimbre and Syrinx, as well as games facilitated by the MCs. The Grand Launching event concluded at 17.00 WIB with conveying the message from the forum, documentation, and closing from the MC.

Saturday, 2 March 2024, from 08.00 a.m. to 01.00 p.m. the Biology Student Family Grand Launching of the Faculty of Biology Universitas Gadjah Mada was held. The Grand Launching was held offline at the Tropical Biology Auditorium, Faculty of Biology UGM, and was attended by Dr. Fajar Sofyantoro, S.Si., M.Sc. as Biology Student Executive Board Advisory Lecturer, several Advisory Lecturers of Study Groups and Organizations namely Prof. Dr. Endang Semiarti, M.S., M.Sc. as advisory lecturer of Biology Orchid Study Club (BiOSC); Dr. Wiko Arif Wibowo, S.Si. as advisory lecturer of Garden Architecture Study Group (KSAT; Donan Satria Yudha, S.Si., M.Sc. as advisory lecturer of Herpetology Study Group (KSH), as well as 31 students from representatives of Study Groups and Organization of the Faculty of Biology UGM.

The Grand Launching was guided by Syarifathunnisa Iryanti dan Muhammad Haidar Alii as the Master of Ceremony. This activity began with an opening and prayer, then continued with singing Indonesia Raya, the Universitas Gadjah Mada Hymn, and the Faculty of Biology March. The activity was followed by a series of remarks that began with remarks from Thasya Arini Salsabila as field coordinator of the event, Muhammad Nurul Fathoni Adha as the head of the 2024 Biology Student Executive Board, and Prof. Dr. Endang Semiarti as advisory lecturer of Biology Orchid Study Club (BiOSC). Then proceed to the main event of the Grand Launching with presentations by each Study Group and Organizations. The event was attended by representatives of 12 study groups and organizations, including the Biology Orchid Study Club, Garden Architecture Study Group, Matalabiogama, Entomology Study Group, Herpetology Study Group, Marine Study Group, Genetic Research Student Forum, Congregation of Biology Muslim Group, Catholic Student Association, Christian Student Fellowship, Graduate Student Association, Student Senate and Biology Student Executive Board. The presentation covered an introduction to the names and meanings of the new cabinet, its vision, and mission, direction of movement, the new cabinet’s organizational structure, as well as various work programs to be implemented by each Study Group and Institution. The Grand Launching event of KMFB also features several performances by Biotimbre and Syrinx, as well as games facilitated by the MC. The Grand Launching event concluded at 1:00 PM WIB and ended with conveying the message from the forum, documentation, and closing from the MC.

Yogyakarta, March 8, 2024 – PT. Bumitama Gunajaya Agro (BGA) held a socialization event for the Call for Proposal Open Innovation 2024 at the Auditorium Biologi Tropika, Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) on Friday. The event, attended by various parties, aimed to introduce the Open Innovation BGA program to lecturers, students, and researchers at UGM, as well as to foster collaboration in addressing challenges and creating innovations in the palm oil sector.

The event began with a welcoming speech from the Dean of the Faculty of Biology at UGM, Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr. Sc., who emphasized the importance of optimizing existing palm oil plantations to increase production without the need for further land expansion.

Moderating the event was Dr. Wiko Arif Wibowo, S.Si., a lecturer from the Faculty of Biology at UGM. The main speakers were Dr. Azis Natawijaya, as the Head of Corporate Development at PT.BGA, and Abid Zulfikar, S.Si., serving as Corporate Planning & PDCA at PT. BGA. They discussed information related to Open Innovation BGA, including the scope of innovation, requirements for potential inventors, and the series of activities to be carried out.

Additionally, the speakers provided in-depth explanations about palm oil, including the introduction of the plant, its utilization in daily life, and its position among vegetable oil commodities. They also highlighted the distribution of palm oil land cover and land usage efficiency. They also outlined the challenges faced by PT BGA as a palm oil industry and the importance of collaboration with researchers from UGM in addressing these challenges.

During the event, PT. BGA provided ample opportunities for lecturers, students, and researchers from the Faculty of Biology at UGM to propose their innovations and research findings with funding support of up to hundreds of millions. This initiative is expected to encourage productive collaboration between industry and academia in addressing global challenges in the future.

The socialization event for the Call for Proposal PT. Bumitama Gunajaya Agro (BGA) Open Innovation 2024 at Universitas Gadjah Mada is expected to be a good starting point in creating innovative and sustainable solutions in the palm oil industry.

Yogyakarta, March 6 2024 – The Faculty of Biology in collaboration with the Faculty of Pharmacy, and the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing held a guest lecture in collaboration with Universiteit Leiden, the Netherlands. The guest lecture was held in the Tropical Biology Auditorium, Faculty of Biology with guest speaker Prof. Dr. Herman Spaink as Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology, Prof. Dr. Erik Danen as Dean of Graduate School of Science and Professor of Cancer Drug Target Discovery, Universiteit Leiden, Dr. Jan de Sonneville and Dr. Yi Ding from Life Science Method BV, the Netherlands. The lecture was attended by students, lecturers and researchers from various faculties of Universitas Gadjah Mada.

“This guest lecture did not only present one, but 4 guest lecturer,” said Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr.Sc. as Dean of the Faculty of Biology in his speech, Wednesday (6/3). He also gave warm greetings to the four speakers who attended the guest lecture and expressed his appreciation for the long-standing collaboration between the Faculty of Biology UGM and Universiteit Leiden, in particular the Faculty of Science.

“We have collaborated with UGM on joint facility, working with robotic injection and CRISPR Cas9,” said Prof. Herman replying Prof. Budi before. He appreciated the research collaboration that existed, especially in the construction of joint facilities for research Zebrafish with UGM.

In the guest lecture, Dr. Yi Ding gave a presentation entitled “Zebrafish: an excellence organism for diabetes” which focuses its research on developing Zebrafish as an animal model for diabetes case studies. Next, Dr. Jan de Sonneville with his presentation “From research Finding to Prototype to Product. Design, Engineering, and Business Development of Life Science Methods BV”. Dr. Jan conveyed the development of the robotic microinjection tool as an efficient and effective alternative to manual injection.

As Dean of Graduate School of Science, Universiteit Leiden, Prof. Erik also gave a presentation regarding Universiteit Leiden, especially the Faculty of Science. On the same occasion, the Professor of Cancer Drug Target Discovery also gave a lecture with the title “Model for cancer drug target discovery”. He also mentioned the development of the zebrafish animal model in his pharmacology research.

Prof. Herman was the closing guest lecture on Wednesday afternoon (6/3). The Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology delivered his presentation entitled “Mycobacterial diseases and the search for new medicines”.

All participants were enthusiastic about attending the lecture from morning to afternoon. It is hoped that this collaboration can contribute to the development of research and education in Indonesia, in line with support for sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially support for inclusive education through sustainable partnerships (SDG 4 and SDG 17).

Yogyakarta, 4 and 5 March 2024 – As part of collaboration in developing Integrated Laboratories and Research of Zebrafish, Universitas Gadjah Mada, especially the Faculty of Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health, held a workshop in collaboration with Faculty of Science, Universiteit Leiden, the Netherlands. The workshop was guided by Prof. Dr. Herman Spaink as Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology, and Prof. Dr. Erik Danen as Dean of Graduate School of Science and Professor of Cancer Drug Target Discovery, Universiteit Leiden. The workshop was also led by Dr. Jan de Sonneville, and Dr. Yi Ding from Life Science Method BV, the Netherlands who developed the robotic microinjection tool together with Universiteit Leiden. The workshop was attended by lecturers and researchers from the Faculty of Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health also the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada, and was held in the Zebrafish Research Laboratory, LPPT (Integrated Research Center Laboratory), UGM.

Prof. Herman started the workshop with a presentation about gene editing and manipulation using CRISPR-Cas, gene sequencing and Zebrafish development which is the focus of research on the development of animal models for studies related to gene function, pharmacology and the study of various diseases. On the occasion of this workshop, CRISPR-Cas injections will be carried out in particular Cas9 and Cas13d targeting TBXTA (no tail gene), and gene sequencing using oxford nanopore MinION.

Dr. Yi and Dr. Jan then guided the microinjection stages. Automated robot microinjection is a tool developed by the Company Life Science Method BV in collaboration with Leiden. Robotic microinjection has previously been researched and provides efficiency that is not much different from manual injection, but is more effective and shortens research time.

Prof. Erik also delivered a presentation at the workshop session regarding his research which focuses on the development of pharmacology and drug discovery using zebrafish as an animal model. He also uses robotic injection technology to inject tumor cells into the collagen gel that creates micro tumours to understand the mechanisms of cell migration and tumor metastasis.

Through this workshop, it is hoped that it can contribute to the development of research and education in Indonesia, in line with support for sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially support for inclusive education through sustainable partnerships (SDG 4 and SDG 17).

[MBKM]- The MBKM team, under the guidance of Dr. Dwi Sendi Priyono, S.Si., M.Si., collaborated with the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation of West Kalimantan to conduct forensic DNA analysis on evidence in the case of monkey abuse by a public servant in Singkawang with the initials RS.

The examination process was conducted at the Animal Systematics Laboratory of the Faculty of Biology at UGM. The samples received on Friday, March 1, 2024. The team conducted forensic DNA examination on the hair and palm of the hands of long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) infants, involving a number of students who collectively handled the samples from isolation, amplification to visualization of the results. DNA examination is one of the foundations for identifying the evidence found.

RS, a public servant in Singkawang Regency, was arrested by the police on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, after one of the video contents of his abuse went viral and caught the attention of international animal lovers’ activists. Based on the issued video, long-tailed monkeys were tortured by being boiled, fried, mutilated, and hammered. For his actions, RS charged under Article 91 of the Livestock and Animal Health Law and or Article 302 of the Criminal Code concerning Cruelty to Animals, with a maximum penalty of nine months in prison. Assuming that the DNA forensic identification process succeeds, it will be contributed as evidence to enforce the Quarantine Law.

Forensic DNA analysis in animal abuse is a crucial step to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in Life on Land (SDGs 15) and SDGs 16 on Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. With DNA forensic technology, we can contribute to testifying the violations against animals, ensure impartial law enforcement, and raise awareness of the need to protect animal life to maintain a balanced ecosystem. Thus, the collaboration between forensic science and animal protection can positively contribute to various aspects of SDGs, including justice, peace, and environmental sustainability.