The Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, has once again received positive news from the international grant arena. Elga Andriana, S.Psi., M.Ed., Ph.D one of the faculty members, has been selected as a recipient of the Australian Alumni Grant 2025. This grant is a prestigious recognition awarded to Australian alumni who are considered to have significant potential to contribute to the development of education, collaboration, and community empowerment.
The Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and TVRI Yogyakarta return with the latest episode of OPSI: Psychological Talk. The third episode aired on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM WIB, featuring the theme "Thriving Schools as the Foundation of a Golden Generation: Pillars of the Nation’s Future."
Who would have thought that a psychologist's career path could be so varied and colorful—such is the story of Prabaswara Dewi, often called Mbak DJ. A graduate of the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), she has worked in psychology for over two decades, starting in the non-profit sector, reaching the peak of her career in prominent companies, and eventually becoming an independent psychologist.
The Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), in collaboration with TVRI Yogyakarta, presents a weekly interactive talk show titled OPSI: Psychological Talk. The premiere episode aired on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM WIB, featuring the theme "Unveiling the Phenomenon of Brain Rot."
The Center for Public Mental Health (CPMH) at the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, once again demonstrated its commitment to improving mental health and disability literacy among adolescents through the organization of the Adolescent Mental Stability Advocate Competition (AMSAC) Vol. 2. Carrying the theme “Breaking Barriers, Opening Opportunities: Realizing a Generation that Cares about Mental Health and Disabilities,” this year’s AMSAC series took place from April 10 to May 25, 2025, with the main event held at Joglo GIK UGM.
AMSAC Vol. 2 was designed as a platform for junior and senior high school students from across Indonesia to express their concern and ideas on mental health and disability issues. Through various creative competitions such as essay writing, digital poster design, reels, and short story contests, participants were encouraged to highlight the role of youth in building inclusive environments, fostering appreciation for mental health warriors, and breaking down the negative stigma that still exists in society. All submissions were collected online from April 20 to May 4, 2025, and the enthusiasm was evident with around 200 participants taking part.
The Inclusive Learning Innovation Project aims to develop innovative and inclusive learning strategies for students with special needs in higher education. As part of this initiative, each team from funded universities was required to design inclusive learning plans, textbooks, and educational videos. Additionally, the teams conducted research that resulted in journal articles evaluating the effectiveness of the implemented strategies.
The UGM team, composed of faculty members from the UGM Faculty of Psychology, was led by Elga Andriana, S.Psi., M.Ed., Ph.D., and Edilburga Wulan Saptandari, S.Psi., M.Psi., Ph.D., Psychologist. They developed a learning strategy that integrates traditional Photovoice methods with AI-based Photovoice, specifically tailored for the course on Educational Psychology and Character Development.
Key contributors to the project included Naida Shafa Ghozalba, a student from UGM’s International Undergraduate Program (IUP) in Psychology (Class of 2021), and Ukhtina Duhi Anindita, S.Psi., M.Psi., Psychologist, an alumna of UGM’s Professional Psychology program. They played pivotal roles in developing learning materials and acted as peer researchers alongside other team members.
The project also involved three UGM Psychology students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as peer researchers. They contributed to designing inclusive learning strategies and ensured that the approaches accommodated diverse learning needs, particularly for students with special conditions. According to one of the participating students, the project provided them with a sense of gratitude as their challenges during lectures were heard and addressed with effective solutions and support.
Prof. David Evans from the University of Sydney, Australia, also participated in the project, leading focus group discussions and offering valuable insights throughout its implementation.
Elga Andriana expressed, “This award is a recognition of the importance of creating inclusive learning environments where every student feels accepted and supported to reach their full potential. It also reminds us that diversity is not a barrier but a strength that enriches the learning process. Moving forward, we are increasingly motivated to create adaptive, supportive, and empowering learning environments for students with various needs.”
Elga also conveyed a message to the academic community: “Appreciate diversity as a strength. Be open-minded and support your peers, regardless of their backgrounds or needs. By supporting one another, we not only foster an inclusive learning community but also build a more equitable and humane society,” she concluded.
Writer: Relung Fajar Sukmawati
The 10th Gebyar Brawijaya Qur’ani Nasional (GBQN X) 2024 was held at Samantha Krida Hall, Universitas Brawijaya. This year’s theme was “Grounding the Heart in Upholding Eternal Civilization of the Quran.” The event aimed to strengthen Quranic values among students and university youth through nine competition categories focused on religious and Islamic artistic skills.
GBQN X attracted 1,465 participants from 16 provinces across Indonesia. The competition series included registration, administrative selection, submission of written papers (for the Musabaqah Karya Tulis Ilmiah Al-Qur’an or MKTIA), announcement of finalists (for MKTIA), competition rounds, and the final announcement of winners. Universitas Gadjah Mada sent nine delegates to compete in the categories of Musabaqah Tilawatil Qur’an (MTQ), Musabaqah Tartilil Qur’an (MTrQ), Musabaqah Karya Tulis Ilmiah Al-Qur’an (MKTIA), and Musabaqah Khattil Qur’an (MKQ) – Decorative Category.
Chairperson of the Islamic Psychology Summit (IPS) committee, Indrayanti, M.Si., Ph.D., Psychologist, explained the series of events in IPS 2024, “The event towards the Islamic Psychology Summit 2024 will begin with an online webinar every month, discussing specifically about contemporary issues, for example like today which discusses in detail about celebrity worship. In addition, there are also calls for paper activities, pre-conference workshops, and then closed with a peak event that presents 15 expert speakers on Islamic psychology from around the world.”
Fuadh Naim, S.I.Kom, the first speaker who is also a content creator and founder of XKwavers explained why teenagers can become K-pop fans, “The majority of Korean artists have multi-talents that have been formed by entertainment agencies. They can sing and are also good-looking, smart, good at playing musical instruments, and various other advantages. This has resulted in Korean artists being seen as perfect by K-pop fans, K-popers are willing to fight anyone who dares to make fun of their idols”.
Fuad conveyed three factors that can make a person experience celebrity worship, “The first is of course a cool product, the second is an injury that eventually makes the individual look for fun entertainment, the third is the most influential, namely having no life value. As a result, someone who experiences celebrity worship can potentially absorb values contrary to existing norms”.
The second speaker who is a professor of social psychology at the Faculty of Psychology, Prof. Drs. Koentjoro, M.BSc., Ph.D., Psychologist, advised, “When having an idol, try to choose one that is by religious law, exemplify the spirit of your idol instead of copying his lifestyle. In order not to be easily carried away, then make a directed life plan and study with full seriousness. Imagine the tears of your parents because of your achievements, not because of your negative behavior that hurts their hearts.”
Author: Relung Fajar Sukmawati
Photo by John Price on Unsplash
The mixed event was attended by 72 participants from various professional backgrounds and institutions, including researchers, doctors, and psychologists from puskesmas, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, universities, companies, and professional organizations.
Prof. Dra. Kwartarini Wahyu Yuniarti, M.Med.Sc., Ph.D., Psychologist, as Principal Investigator of HGI Studio and workshop moderator, opened the event by providing an overview of the research that has been carried out since 2019. This research is funded by the Productive Innovative Research of the Education Fund Management Institution of the Indonesian Ministry of Finance (RISPRO – LPDP). This research aims to develop measurements of human emotions using psychophysiological equipment such as EEG, HRV, GSR, and body temperature.
The research, which has entered its third year, is also supported by nine research centers from various universities in Indonesia, including North Sumatra University, Gunadarma University, Padjadjaran University, Maranatha University, Diponegoro University, Widya Mandala Christian University in Surabaya, Udayana University, and Ganesha University of Education.
Prof. Kwartarini explained that the rampant phenomenon of gendam and fraud became the basis of her interest in studying hypnosis further. From her findings, the use of hypnosis in therapy resulted in rapid changes for cases such as smoking cessation or specific phobias through memory reconstruction. In her exploration, Prof. Kwartarini met with various experts and realized the need for in-depth understanding so that clinical hypnotherapy can be utilized optimally. Therefore, in this workshop she invited Prof. Ismail to explain the process of memory reconstruction from a physiological perspective.
Prof. Dr. dr. Ismail Setyopranoto, Sp.S (K), is a professor of Neurology from the Department of Neurology, Faculty of Public Health Medicine and Nursing (FKKMK) UGM.
“Our organs other than the brain only receive orders,” explained Prof. Ismail. When the body receives a signal such as pain, there is a process where the signal can be amplified or ignored. This process involves chemicals such as tnf alpha and tnf beta, where tnf beta acts as a protector. With proper regulation, stress, confusion or pain can be minimized.
Furthermore, Prof. Ismail explained about the concept of balance in the body, called the interior milieu. According to him, it is important not to see bacteria as an enemy that must be eliminated immediately, because our bodies need antibodies to fight infection. The same goes for stress, which is important to manage well in children in order to maintain their mental health.
“Don’t assume that a child who learns to walk and then falls is stopped. It is a process of balance between inhibition and excitation,” she explained.
This workshop is expected to provide a deep understanding of the integration between clinical hypnosis and neuroscience and its application in modern psychological practice.
The first part of this workshop can be watched through the Knowledge Channel of the Faculty of Psychology UGM.
Author: Edwin Gandawijaya
Editor: Erna Tri Nofiyana
Photo: Yunissa Meganingtyas
The Dean of the Faculty of Psychology UGM, Rahmat Hidayat, S.Psi., M.Sc., Ph.D., emphasized that the Faculty of Psychology UGM provides equal educational opportunities for all its students. “The Faculty of Psychology is committed to providing equal opportunities to everyone in society, especially high school students, to continue their education at the Faculty of Psychology UGM. “It doesn’t look at the financial capabilities or welfare of the family,” he said on Tuesday (4/6).
Rahmat Hidayat added that the main consideration in student admissions is academic ability. “The only thing that is considered is academic ability, because like it or not, it is very competitive to be accepted at the UGM Faculty of Psychology,” he explained.