The UGM Biology Museum presented their routine thematic exhibitions in the first quarter of 2023. Unlike the previous theme, the theme raised this time is snake exhibition. The exhibition takes place in room 2. The purpose of this snake exhibition is to provide educational facilities to visitors regarding various matters related to the life of snakes and also contains various tips and facts about snakes.

When visitors entered the thematic exhibition room, visitors will get information about tips to prevent the arrival of snakes. In addition, there were some infographics about how the snake’s life cycle takes place and the division of snake groups based on fangs and their habitat. This exhibition also presented some interesting facts about snake tongues. After that, there were taxidermy displays of various snake species, intact snake skeletons, as well as wet preservation.

In the future, various thematic exhibition innovations will always be improved in order to educate visitors with interesting information.

The issue that Educational Laboratory Institutions (PLP) or laboratory assistants typically encounter is that they have not implemented techniques for operating, maintaining, and repairing microscopes properly and correctly. This problem arises especially in agencies that have laboratories and microscopes in them. Therefore, on Tuesday 7 February 2023  the Faculty of Biology UGM held Training on Microscope Operation and Repair Techniques at UGM.

“This training is for the MBKM program for Education Personnel, especially for Laboratory Assistants at UGM. Why MBKM? because the participants who took part in the training today willingly to learn more without any enforcement” said Mr. Mulyanto, S.T., M.M as Chair of the Committee who also serves as Plt. Head of Administration Office of the Faculty of Biology UGM.

The full day training was opened by the Vice Dean for Finance, Assets and HR, Dr. Niken Satuti Nur Handayani, M.Sc. In her remarks Dr. Niken thanked the organizers for their initiative in organizing this event. She also thanked the participants who had enthusiastically participated in this event. This enthusiasm can be seen from the participants who attended the training coming from six faculties at Gadjah Mada University, which are Faculty of Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Technology and Faculty of Dentistry. She hoped that through this training, this knowledge could be applied in the laboratories of each participant.

The training, which was held at the Microteaching Laboratory, Building B, 2nd Floor, Faculty of Biology, UGM, started at 08.00 a.m. to 04.00 p.m. The resource persons were from PT Miconos, which is one of the manufacturers and distributors of laboratory equipment in Yogyakarta. The training was continued with independent assignments on the 8 to 9 February 2023 in the laboratory of each participant.

2023 Faculty of Biology Outstanding Student Election Socialization event was held with the theme “Get ready, show your greatest achievement” by the Department of Scientific Development, Student Executive Board Faculty of Biology. This socialization was held on Sunday, 22 January 2023 at 10.00-12.00 a.m. This event was attended by around 30 students from the Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada. The event began with a talk show session by Adhelia Intan Sabhira as the 2022 Biology Faculty outstanding student and continued with a talk show session by I Putu Gede Eka Praptika as the UGM 3rd level outstanding student.

The 2023 Faculty of Biology Outstanding Student Selection Socialization event was held with the aim of increasing knowledge about Pilmapres, students’ hard skills and soft skills and increasing student enthusiasm to participate with various experiences that will be shared during the activity. The event was held in 2 forms, a talk show session and a question and answer session. The talk show session discussed the speaker’s experiences and impressions, during and after the Outstanding Student Selection event at both the Faculty and University levels, guidelines for registration of outstanding students, benefits of becoming an outstanding student, tips & tricks for preparing the selection of outstanding students at both the Faculty and University levels, such as how to self-branding, building self-confidence and others. Finally, the event was closed with a question and answer session from the audience to all the speakers present regarding the materials that had been presented as well as other questions regarding the 2023 Pilmapres.

PMW Talk is one of the work programs under the Creative Economy Department of BEM Biology. The PMW Talk was held on Saturday, 21 January 2023. The purpose of this activity is to help introduce the Student Entrepreneurial Week (PMW) program among students, especially Biology students and it is hoped that it will be able to increase the entrepreneurial spirit to be able to take part in PMW activities. This event was chaired by Salfa Athallah.

This year, PMW Talk presented friends from the Yoguruto team consisting of Eva (Biology 2021), Andrea (Biology 2020), and Hanif (Biology 2021). The Yoguruto team is a team from the biology faculty that has successfully passed funding in 2022. Submission of material in the form of the initial idea of ​​forming a team, the definition of PMW, terms and conditions, timeline, benefits, activities in PMW, and funding tips to qualify.After the presentation session, a question and answer session was opened which was answered directly by the Yoguruto team. This event ended at 11.15 a.m. and ended with a documentation session.

Apart from being a food provider, the agricultural and plantation sectors have a role in driving the community’s economy, especially farmers. However, this sector is one of the causes of loss of tropical forest ecosystems as well as one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Having the ambition to minimize the impact of agriculture on the sustainability of tropical forest ecosystems, Br. Mukhlish Jamal, lecturer at the Faculty of Biology UGM, was selected as a recipient of the Project on Resource and Governance (PRG) Fellowship research grant, along with two other recipients from South Africa and Benin. In his submitted project, Mr.Mukhlish will identify the inhibiting aspects and opportunities that support the implementation of sustainable tropical agriculture.

“From the point of view of ecological science, maintaining sustainability in equitable agricultural land can be done by utilizing the ecosystem services provided by the biological community. However, agricultural production and nature conservation often clash so that it seems as if we can only choose one.” said the biology lecturer who is currently completing his studies at the Department of Biology, University of Oxford, UK.

For two weeks (January 17-27 2023), Mukhlish had the opportunity to discuss with several staff and postgraduate students at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) to refine the research plan to be carried out. This research is an effort to downstream the results of Mr. Mukhlish is related to the function of ecosystems in tropical agro-ecosystems to support agricultural sustainability as well as nature conservation.

“Hopefully this study can be applied to support the fulfillment of Indonesia’s commitment to climate change mitigation in Indonesia as stated in the NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution)” hope Mr. Mukhlish.

In order to increase collaboration and synergy in empowering the community, the KKN-PPM UGM team Period 4 of 2022 Kulon Progo Unit YO-099 with team leader Adityo Reyhan P., collaborated with Gama Wader, Faculty of Biology, UGM. Activities carried out on 25 January 2023 in the Sendangsari Village Hall Hall, Pengasih District, Kulon Progo, D.I. Yogyakarta invites Dr. Bambang Retnoaji M.Sc., as the leader of the Gama Wader team, Anita Raharjeng, M.Sc., M.BioMed.Sc., as the resource person and member of the Gama Wader team. The event which was held in the Hall of the Sendangsari Village Hall was opened by Mr. Suhardi, as the Village Head of Sendangsari Village, and was attended by the head of the hamlet, several community representatives and representatives of the Fish Cultivator Group (POKDAKAN). In his opening speech, he hoped that wader rays cultivation could be implemented and become a follow-up program in Sendangsari Village, because local fish cultivation in Sendangsari Village was still lacking.

In addition to teaching about wader fish cultivation, a demonstration was also carried out and a detailed explanation of the stages of spawning of wader rays was also carried out to the public. In the demonstration activity, the community participated in selecting male and female fish by pushing the abdomen of the fish. During the demonstration, the community looked very enthusiastic and asked several questions, such as the importance of using aerators during the spawning process, processes and prospects and so on.

Ganies Riza Aristya, S.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., as the Period 4 PPM Community Service Lecturer, expressed her hopes for the continuation of this program. In addition to the increasing economic potential of wader fish, she stated that this activity is also a form of preserving the local wisdom of the local village. As it is known that Sendangsari Village itself has a tradition that one of the pre-marital conditions that must be carried out by a married couple is to carry out preservation by donating local fish to the river. Nadia Mariam C., as the head of the program, explained that the program to release fish into the river by prospective brides in Sendangsari village is included in the Commitment of Kulon Progo Residents and the Bride and Groom’s Fish Handout program (JOGOKALIKU SIPATIN). Michael Nathan P., as head of the Girinyono Sub Unit, added that this program was launched by the Kulon Progo Ministry of Religion Office together with the local regency government. The socialization activity was then closed with a documentation and closing session by the moderator. By carrying out this socialization, it is hoped that the people of Sendangsari Village can take part in efforts to preserve wader rays by starting to cultivate their own wader rays.

At the beginning of 2023 the Biotechnology Laboratory of the Faculty of Biology UGM has accepted 2 level 8 students from the TechnoNatura Jogja International Madrasah, namely Ata Nufayl An Nabih and Zufar Syahardyan to carry out Plant Tissue Culture internships. The two students were very serious about following the material from Mrs. Prof. Dr. Endang Semiarti, M.S., M.Sc. The Head of the Biotechnology Laboratory and carries out the practice of Plant Tissue Culture Engineering accompanied by Mr. Eka Mega Sampurna as the Biotechnology Laboratory technician.

Level 8 MI TechnoNatura Jogja Mentor: Della Rosiana Ningtias, S.Si stated that this internship was one of the learning activity programs at entrepreneur week at the TechnoNatura International Madrasah. In general, internships have the goal of providing an overview, insight, knowledge, and direct experience to students. In addition, internships provide work experience in accordance with the interests and talents of students or better understand the business processes that run in companies/institutions, so that they can be given the opportunity to learn directly from the source and get real world work experience. In this internship activity, the two students received material from Prof. Endang about the basics of plant tissue culture techniques in general and the advantages of using these tissue culture methods for plant propagation/mass production of plant seeds, uniform in nature and in a relatively short time. This is certainly very promising to be developed in the industrial/agribusiness world. For practice, the students carry out the practice of the stages of plant tissue culture starting from making media, preparing plants as donor plants to be developed, namely orchid plants as an icon of the Biotechnology Laboratory which is known as the UGM Orchid Laboratory and carrying out subculture/transfer of plant seeds/thinning of plant seeds resulting from tissue culture from 1 full culture bottle to new medium from another culture bottle in the form of orchid plant seeds. The sterile phalaenopsis appeared to be growing well. Even though the duration was very short, in just 3 days, Ata and Zufar, the two students seemed to really enjoy and enthusiastically participate in all the activities given by Ms. Prof. Endang and Mr. Eka. On the 2nd and 3rd day, 2 more students (Yafi and Ardan) were sent from TechnoNatura Jogja MI to take part in the internship, both of them were also very enthusiastic about participating in this Plant Tissue Culture Internship activity.

On the last day, the students showed the results of their activities, in the form of growing media they made, then they took the Post Test which was given as the basis for their work assessment. TechnoNatura Jogja MI presented a Certificate for the Biotechnology Laboratory as an expression of gratitude that their two students had been allowed to carry out an internship, gain knowledge and work experience in tissue culture engineering to Ata and Zufar, their students. Ms. Della stated that by participating in this internship it was hoped that the knowledge gained by the two students would be useful for their future and hopefully they could become future scientists in Indonesia.

Wednesday, 25 January 2023, the Faculty of Biology UGM held a ceremony for the Postgraduate Program Period II 2022/2023 graduates solemnly held face-to-face, at the Tropical Biology Auditorium Building, Faculty of Biology UGM. The event was opened directly by the Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM (Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr.Sc). The event was also attended by the Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs (Rina Sri Kasiamdari, S.Sc., Ph.D.), Vice Dean for Finance (Dr.Niken Satuti Nur Handayani, M.Sc), Deputy for Research, Community Service and Cooperation (Dr. Eko. Agus Suyono, S.Sc., M.App.Sc), Head of the Masters Study Program (Dr.rer.nat. Andhika Puspito Nugroho, S.Sc., M.Sc), Head of the Doctoral Study Program (Dr. Bambang Retno Aji, M.Sc.), research advisory and all the committees involved in the event.

The ceremony started at 13.00 WIB, opened directly by the Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM, Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr.Sc. followed by singing the national anthem Indonesia Raya, the Gadjah Mada Hymn, Mars Biology UGM, the accompaniment of the traditional Bajidor Kahot dance performed by doctoral and master student namely Khusnul Qonita Maghfiroh, S.Si and Hayu Swari Allimi, S.Si followed by a graduation report by Dr.rer.nat. Andhika Puspito Nugroho, S.Sc., M.Sc as Head of Masters Study Program, Faculty of Biology UGM. The Ceremony for Period II 2022/2023 has graduated 2 graduates of the doctoral program namely Dr. Evi Mintowati Kuntorini, M.Si with a GPA of 3.99 and Dr. Junaidi, S.P., M.Sc., Ph.D with a GPA of 3.90 who is a double degree student in the doctoral program with L’Institute Agro Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, France. Meanwhile, for the master program in this period, 16 graduates have graduated with the title of Master of Science (M.Sc.) with 1 graduate with good predicate, 9 graduates with excellent predicate and 6 graduates with cumlaude predicate and from the master program, Della Blatama, M.Sc has the highest GPA among all graduates with 3.94 GPA. Up to this period, the UGM biology postgraduate program has succeeded in graduating 125 doctoral students and 1,522 masters students.

The ceremony continued with reading the names of the graduates by the Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM. In total, there are 18 graduates from this period, they are Dr. Evi Mintowati Kuntorini, M.Si, Dr. Junaidi, S.P., M.Sc., Ph.D, Raden Roro Risang Ayu Dewayani Putri, S.Pd., M.Sc, Ahmad Yani, S.Pd., M.Sc, Syaiful Adam Maulana, S.Sc., M.Sc, Ratna Azizah, S.Pd., M.Sc, Reva Suzana, S.Sc., M.Sc, Ahmad Saifun Naser, S.Sc., M.Sc, Muhammad Khoerul, S.Sc., M .Sc, Huliyatul Adzkiya, S.Sc., M.Sc, Sadiq Ali, BS.C., M.Sc, Lasmini Syariatin, S.Sc., M.Sc, Yunita Messe, S.Pd., M.Sc , Rahmatullah S.Sc., M.Sc, Dea Putri Andeska, S.Sc., M.Sc, Della Blatama, S.Pd., M.Sc, Wulan Rahmani Akmal, S.Sc., M.Sc, Irma Rohmawati, S.Pd., M.Sc. M.Sc. Della Blatama, M.Sc., as the representative of the graduates who gave remarks at the graduation ceremony, in her remarks expressed her deepest gratitude to the entire academic community of the Faculty of Biology UGM for the guidance and their facilities and hopes for the future that the graduates of the Faculty of Biology UGM will become excellent quality human resources who will contribute and benefit the nation and the country in the future. The ceremony continued with remarks by representatives of the parents of the graduates delivered by Ms. Masni Jafar S.Pd who is the mother of Della Blatama, M.Sc. She expressed her pride at the achievements of the graduates for their struggles to win an academic degree in the postgraduate program at the Faculty of Biology UGM and remarked thank you for the outpouring of guidance from the supervisor and the entire academic community to the graduates.

After the remarks, a symbolic pinning procession of KABIOGAMA membership was carried out, represented by Irma Rohmawati, S.Pd., M.Sc. and Dr. Junaidi, S.P., M.Sc., Ph.D by the Deputy Dean for Research, Community Service and Cooperation, Dr. Eko Agus Suyono, S.Si., M.App.Sc. The last remarks were delivered by Prof. Budi Setiadi Daryono M.Agr.Sc. as the Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM. He congratulated and was also happy for the graduation ceremony. He said, “Congratulations and we are happy for the graduation ceremony that has taken place, we also thank the parents for the support of their sons/daughters”. He gave a short poem “Eating Sushi tastes good in the morning when you are with your sweetheart, welcome to the graduates’ families at the green and sustainable Biology Faculty”. The Faculty of Biology made a new history with the graduation of Dr. Junaidi, S.P., M.Sc., Ph.D graduated from the double degree doctoral program, and hopefully it will become an initiation for other students to take the same steps and programs. Currently the Faculty of Biology has collaborated to sign an MoU with the Australian National University which is the first ranked university in Australia and with the Ministry of Finance’s LPDP Scholarship Program will prepare a double degree program for Masters and Doctoral degrees. He also said that the graduates came from various regions in Indonesia such as Lampung, West Java, Pakistan, Maluku, Kalimantan and other areas which indicated that the graduates of the postgraduate program were evenly distributed and came from various regions which were expected to contribute to Indonesia’s development. in the future. This year the Masters program is in the process of obtaining ASIIN accreditation and is the first Biology faculty in Indonesia. He expressed his gratitude to the teaching staff/lecturers and education staff who have guided the graduates and academic technical matters, as well as to the parents who have supported their sons/daughters to continue on the master’s program, and did not forget to thank KMP for providing a forum in terms of soft skills to become provisions in the future as a means of self-development apart from academic/GPA factors. Finally, he apologized for the lack from various aspects, be it lecturers, education staff, and others flaws that existed, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic to continue to adapt, he said that there was no success without prayer. He hopes that the graduates will become successful people, provide benefits to the surrounding environment and be beneficial to nature and the environment. Finally, he delivered a short poem “spinach with seeds on the river bank, sustainable greetings from the biology faculty”.

The ceremony then continued with the presentation of mementos from the graduates of period II 2022/2023 represented by Sadiq Ali, B.Sc., M.Sc, to the dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM, and the event was closed with a prayer led by Mr. Sumarno , S.Sc., M.Sc and ended with a group photo. This graduation procession proves that the graduation ceremony is a very important moment that can still be held smoothly and sacredly even though it is carried out virtually.

At Saturday, January 7 2023, the Regional Executive Board of the Indonesian Orchid Association (DPD PAI) DIY in collaboration with the Biotechnology Laboratory of the Faculty of Biology UGM has held a DIY PAI Members Meeting in the Auditorium Room of the KPTU Building, Faculty of Biology UGM. This meeting is the first Meeting Agenda since the COVID19 emergency condition was implemented, where for 2 years meetings have been held online. The event for this first meeting was filled with lectures on “Tips for Success in Orchid Business”, inviting a practitioner from the industry, Ir. Joko Asad (Sales & Marketing Manager PT Ekakarya Graha Flora). Besides being attended by members and administrators of PAI DIY, it was also attended by collaborators from tertiary institutions, such as the Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM, the Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology at Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta, the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture Janabadra, and the Chairman of KAGAMA ORCHIDS, attended by a total of 115 people.

The event began by singing the Indonesia Raya song and the Orchid Flower song, which is the PAI DIY Mars Song, led by Ms. Uminurida (DIY PAI secretary). The next event was a welcome speech from the chairman of PAI DIY, Prof. Dr. Endang Semiarti, M.S., M.Sc. who also report the activities of PAI DIY in 2022. Then followed by remarks from the Dean of the Faculty of Biology UGM, Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M. Agr. Sc which also officially opened the activity. The main event regarding tips for success in the orchid business was delivered by Ir. Joko Asad (Mr. Jack’s nickname) with moderator Dr. Ixora Sartika Mercuriani, M.Sc. Deputy Chairperson of PAI DIY. In his presentation, Mr. Jack said “there are 4 strategies in dealing with market opportunities, such as market potential, production considerations, market considerations, and networking. These four things help in the decision-making process.” Then Mr. Jack also said that in the orchid business, it is important to pay attention to the 3Q aspects namely Quality, Quantity and Continuity.

In the discussion session the participants were very enthusiastic about asking questions related to the material presented by Mr. Jack, so that the session was very interactive. One of the participants who attended this event asked about the superior technique in orchid cultivation, cloning or hybrid. Mr. Jack answered that the plant cloning technique is considered to have advantages as well as promise in the orchid business. The clones had uniform quality, flowering time and growth pattern between individuals with the same plant source. In the discussion session, Mrs. Dr. Ex. Mursyanti-Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology at Atma Jaya University also asked Mr. Jack about the possibility of collaboration in the form of student internships with PT. Ekakarya and the possibility of collaboration in the form of teaching practitioners in the Independent Learning Program learning scheme. Mr. Jack also said that PT. Ekakarya accepts student internships, within a limited quota. After the discussion session was over, the event continued with the door prize distribution session in the form of orchid plants and Liquid Organic Fertilizer (POC) “DR. S” (Prominent POC product Dr. Sukirno Head of Biology Study Program, Faculty of Biology UGM) for lucky DIY orchiders. Especially for guests from Kagama Orchids, Mr. Yoppie et al. were given a prize in the form of POC “DR S”.

The seminar was also enlivened by stands of attractive orchid products to buy. Innovative merchandise products with orchid nuances such as tumblers, key chains, enamels, hats and tote bags are sold by the BiOSCorp BiOSC student group. Meanwhile, cultivated orchid plants, such as Phalaenopsis, Vanda, and Dendrobium, both hybrids and species, are sold by several orchid nurseries in Yogyakarta.

Overall, this event ran smoothly and was lively. The next DIY PAI meeting will be held in the next 2 months at the orchid nursery or other collaborator universities. It is hoped that members will continue to be able to attend future meetings, because apart from being able to strengthen communication and friendship relations between members of PAI DIY, they can also develop knowledge about orchid cultivation. Greetings Everlasting Orchid Indonesia!