The Beginning of the Journey: From Instagram to London
Tsania’s interest in IISMA began in 2021, at the start of her university years. A post she saw on a senior’s Instagram sparked her curiosity, prompting her to explore more through UGM’s OIA social media and various other sources. From the beginning, Tsania had always dreamed of joining a student exchange program. So, she began to seriously attend IISMA info sessions and prepare herself to apply in 2024.

That motivation didn’t come out of nowhere. Since high school, Tsania had been interested in student exchanges because she wanted to experience firsthand what education systems and cultures abroad were like. She believed that cross-cultural experiences would enrich her perspective, both personally and academically. Seeing IISMA as a golden opportunity, she committed herself wholeheartedly to the process. read more

Paris and Le Havre, France — From March 5 to 7, 2025, the international conference “The Rise of Asia” took place, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the 1955 Asian-African Conference and continuing the Bandung Spirit Movement. Day one was held in Paris, followed by sessions in Le Havre for the remaining two days, serving as a crucial forum for developing countries to collaborate on creating a more just, inclusive, and sustainable global future.

Since its launch in 2015, The Rise of Asia Conference has consistently emphasized solidarity, cooperation, and decolonization. This year, it reinforced its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the foundation of global development initiatives. A key agenda was the establishment of the University of New Emerging Forces (UNEFO) in Koudougou, Burkina Faso, supporting SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), and SDGs 10 and 11 (Reducing Inequality and Building Sustainable Communities). Notably, a student from UGM’s Department of Architecture and Planning (DTAP), Bening Putri Kasandra, contributed to the library design team for UNEFO, incorporating Burkina Faso’s local values and embodying the Asia-Africa spirit. read more

The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 marked a turning point for Kobe City, transforming it into a center for expertise in safety management, particularly in disaster prevention and mitigation. Over the years, Kobe has become a hub for national and international organizations, institutions, researchers, and academics seeking to learn from the advanced safety management systems developed in response to the disaster.

As part of the Asian Cooperative Program (ACP), Kansai University of International Studies (KUISs) in Kobe, Japan, hosted an activity titled “The Japanese Safety Management and Japanese Culture.” This program ran from February 6 to 17, 2025, bringing together students from various ACP member universities, including Bramertha Salsabella Roseli (Mertha), a student from the Department of Architecture and Planning. The initiative aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as quality education (SDG 4), innovation in infrastructure (SDG 9), and fostering global partnerships (SDG 17). read more

A team of alumni from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) successfully earned an Honorable Mention in the EPOCH45 International Planning Competition, a multidisciplinary competition for students and young professionals in spatial planning for Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN). The competition was organized in collaboration between Diponegoro University and MARS Architects, aiming to find innovative solutions for urban and landscape development in the next phase of IKN’s construction. The award announcement took place on March 18, 2025, at Erasmus Huis, Royal Netherlands Embassy, Jakarta. read more

As a form of appreciation for the dedication of students in designing and documenting the design process, the Architecture Study Program held a Design Process Competition. This competition assesses every step of the design process, from problem analysis, solution strategies, to exploration of alternative designs that are presented creatively and clearly.

Congratulations to the students who have shown the best progress in this competition! Hopefully this award will be a motivation to continue producing innovative and quality design work. read more

The campus environment, especially in the Department of Architecture and Planning (DTAP), has many empty spaces that have the potential to be activated as functional areas. One of them is the DTAP innercourt, an open space that is often underutilized. With an innovative design approach, this area can be transformed into a place that supports discussion activities, collaboration, and informal interactions between students and lecturers.

The need for small spaces that are flexible, multifunctional, and easy to move is relevant in the campus environment. These modular spaces can be adapted to maximize the use of the innercourt and other empty areas in DTAP. In addition to enriching the quality of space in the campus environment, modular design also provides flexibility for use in other locations as needed. read more

On November 11, 2023, Maria Orchita Bella, a student of the Master Program in Urban and Regional Planning (MPWK UGM), and Daniel Harjuna, an alumnus of Urban and Regional Planning, achieved achievements at The 26th FSTPT Symposium & The 4th International Symposium on Transport Studies in Developing Countries (ISTSDC) at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Under the guidance of Mrs. Isti Hidayati, ST, M.Sc., Ph.D, Maria Orchita was awarded as the Best Postgraduate Presenter with a research entitled “Identification of City Shaping Elements in Measuring the Potential of Walkability in the Heritage City Area”. This research aims to find the city-forming elements in the heritage city area that can affect the level of walkability, which is carried out using the content analysis method. The research found that city-forming elements influence walkability but the results are still fragmented. Heritage Cities have special elements that are different from cities in general, due to their past existence, which makes it impossible to have ideal pedestrian infrastructure as in cities that are planned for walking. read more

Towards the end of 2023, DTAP students made another achievement through the Indonesia DfGE Design Competition 2023. The event was organized by IFC and EDGE together with 20 partner universities that are members of the Design for Greater Efficiency (DfGE) program engaged in green building. This national competition was attended by 53 participating teams which were then filtered into 10 winners with 5 main winners. Universitas Gadjah Mada itself sent 4 teams, all of which were DTAP students and mentored by Dr. Ir. Jatmika Adi Suryabrata, M.Sc., Dr.Eng. Nedyomukti Imam Syafii, S.T., M.Sc., and Dr.Eng. Agus Haryadi, S.T., M.Sc. read more

Bali Asia International Model United Nations (BAIMUN) 2019 is a simulation of the UN conference held by the International Global Network (IGN). The recruitment process takes place online with a total of 17,899 registrants. After a selection by BAIMUN committee, there were 462 participants from 44 countries from around the world. One of the students from the Urban and Regional Planning, Ramadhani Nuresa Putri, succeeded in becoming a delegate to the event. The event was held for 4 days, from March 22 to March 25, 2019, at The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia. There are 5 series of activities, namely Opening Ceremony (Diplomatic Dinner, MUN 101, and Entertainment Session), Grand Symposium, Meeting Session, City Tour, and Closing Night which is the closing of the five series of events. read more

Two students of Architecture Study Program, Department of Architecture and Planning (JUTAP) UGM won 2nd place in the 2015 Indonesia Landscape Design Competition (ILDC) held by the Landscape Architecture Student Association (Himaskap) IPB, in collaboration with the Bogor City Government and the Bird Community Indonesia on Saturday (10/17/2015) at Bogor City Hall.

The two students, Bayu Kusuma Adi and Natasha Nurul Annisa, redesigned the Ahmad Yani City Forest area in the middle of the city of Bogor to become a safe and comfortable habitat for birds who live and migrate. This is not easy to do, given the surrounding situation which is a city area that is crowded with activity and has a high noise level. read more