Friday (11/5/18), a guest lecture by Dr. Ryutaro Akiyama was held discussing “A role of extracellular environment in collective migration of organ progenitors.” Dr. Akiyama is a researcher from the Nara Institute of Science & Technology (NAIST), Japan, and a colleague of Dr. Bambang Retno Aji (Lecturer at the Faculty of Biology). The guest lecture was held at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Biology and attended by lecturers and students interested in animal structure and development. Dr. Akiyama shared his research in identifying environmental factors affecting the organ morphogenesis in Zebra Fish. Soon, the Faculty of Biology plans to develop a Zebra Fish Research Center to facilitate organ development and morphogenesis research.

Rusna Nur Aini, a librarian from the Faculty of Biology, won first place in the 2018 UGM Best Librarian competition. The competition was held on May 11, 2018, raising the theme of “Beyond the bubbles: for a better librarian and library”. Rusna presented an article entitled “Collaboration between librarian and students: A best practice in the Faculty of Biology.” The article reported an innovative program held in the library of Faculty of Biology involving students as volunteers in managing the library.

Comment:

I wish this kind of event can motivate other librarians to continue working hard and learn new things, especially in developing our skills to contribute more to the Faculty and University.

Phytoplasm X is a scientific article writing competition held by the Fakultas Kedokteran, Universitas Tanjungpura, Pontianak. Presenting an article entitled “Establishing a healthy model village in preventing the mosquito-borne diseases through educative learning,” a team from the Faculty of Biology comprised of Giyantolin, Jundi Faaris, and Dwi Jami Indah successfully obtained second place in the competition.

Comments:

Even though placing as the 2nd winner, we are very proud as a student from the Faculty of Biology, considering that most of the participants were students majoring Pharmacy from various universities in Indonesia. It proves that Biology could provide alternative solutions in coping with various problems in society.

The BORN 3 National Competition was held in 4-6 May 2018 by the HMPSP BIOLOGI “Lumba-lumba” FKIP Universitas Jember. A team from the Faculty of Biology consisting of Fadilah Husnun, Muhammad Alif Ishak, and Arvita Fatmadanni competed with finalists from other leading universities such as Universitas Jember, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Universitas Diponegoro, Politeknik Negeri Jakarta, and Universitas Mulawarman. Their article entitled “Pewarisan Karakter Fenotip Melon Hibrida (Cucumis melo L. ‘Tacapa Gold’) Hasil Persilangan Melon ♀’Tacapa Silver’ dengan ♂’Hikapel’ Guna Menunjang Ketahanan Pangan Nasional” was awarded as the runner up in this competition. Also, the member of the team received a “Best Presenter” award from the committee for the outstanding presentation.

In collaboration with the Pusat Studi Bioteknologi, the Faculty of Biology organized a guest lecture by Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Hans-Jörg Jacobsen entitled “Development of Teaching Methods and Curriculum in Life Sciences”. The lecture was held on April 18, 2018, in the Ruang Sidang of the Faculty of Biology UGM. Prof. Jacobsen was invited to share his experience as the dean of Leibniz Universitat Hannover and his contribution to the Bologna Process, a standardization protocols for higher education in EU from 1996-1999. As one of the implementations of Senior Experten Servise from the Government of Germany, the guest lecture was expected to provide new insights on constructing a better education system and curriculum development in the Faculty of Biology UGM.

The GGMUN 2018, held on 13 to 16 April 2018, was a parliament-based forum discussing topics related to the 17 Global Goals set by the United Nations (UN). Thomi Asyari and Imroatul Habibah, two undergraduate students from the Faculty of Biology, attended the forum in Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The three-day event was started by opening the International Youth Symposium on Global Goals. On the second day, a parliament-based discussion was held in which Thomi was assigned as the representative of Maldives and Imroatul as of Portugal. The last day was concluded by the International Grant Symposium, inviting distinguished speakers and organizing art and cultural performances from each country.

Ainurrizqi started to pursue martial art by joining the Unit Kegiatan Mahasiswa (UKM) in October 2017. His first competition in Judo was in the Monas Open International Judo Championship di Jakarta where he joined as a participant. Finally, in February 2018, he won a bronze medal in the 2018 Carlson Gracie Brazilian Jiujitsu International Cup competition in Thailand.

Comments:

I learned many valuable experiences during the competition. Also, I was happy that I could go abroad for the first time in my life for free. Besides, I made friends with participants from other countries. I wish this experience would help me to grow further in pursuing and learning the martial art.

Faculty of Biology UGM and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Malaysia has established a joint-collaboration program in academic and research since 2017. As part of the program, an online lecture by Dr. Hann Ling Wong (Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Sciences UTAR) was held on April 9th, 2018. More than 50 undergraduate students from both universities attended the lecture about “Molecular mechanism on Plant Response to Pathogenic Infection” by Dr. Wong. The next joint lecture is scheduled on April 16th, 2018, by Dr. Endang Semiarti, M.S., M.Sc (Faculty of Biology, UGM).

A Guest Lecture by Prof. Jun Yokoyama (Department Biology, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University) was organized on March 23rd, 2018. During the lecture, Prof. Yokoyama discussed his research focusing on “the Diversity and Evolution of Plant-Pollinator Interactions.”  Prof, Yokoyama highlights the adaptive interaction between plants and their pollinators from the evolutionary point of view. Rina Sri Kasiamdari, Ph.D., as the Vice Dean of Academic and Student Affairs, opened the lecture by welcoming Prof. Yokoyama. Held at the Auditorium of Faculty of Biology UGM, lecturers and students attended the lecture and engaged in active discussions.

On Saturday, March 10th, 2018, a “Workshop for Editor” was held by the Journal of Tropical Biodiversity and Biotechnology (JTBB) Faculty of Biology UGM and Jurnal Bioedukatika Pendidikan Biologi FKIP UAD in the Auditorium of Faculty of Biology UGM. Approximately 47 participants from 34 universities attended the event inviting Dr. Berry Juliandi (Editor-in-Chief Jurnal Hayati), Yazid Hady (Editor Jurnal Edusains, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta), and Andri Pranolo, M.Cs. (Editor Jurnal IJAIN, UAD Yogyakarta) as speakers. During the workshop, a Forum Pengelola Jurnal Biologi dan Pendidikan Biologi was established with Dr. Miftahul Ilmi, M.Si. (Editor of JTBB, Faculty of Biology UGM) as the chairman.