Yesita Vera Saraswati and Dio Fico Felsidan Diatmono, doctoral students from the UGM Faculty of Animal Science, had the opportunity to serve as masters of ceremony (MCs) for the orientation event for the 9th cohort of the PMDSU (Master’s to Doctoral Education for Superior Bachelors) scholarship program. Both are PMDSU scholarship recipients from earlier cohorts; Yesita belongs to Cohort VI, while Dio is from Cohort VII. They were invited by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek), specifically the Director of Resources, to host the orientation program, which took place from September 15 to 17, 2025, at the Kemdiktisaintek Ballroom and the Mangkuluhur Artotel Suites in Jakarta.
This event was organized in conjunction with the implementation of the 2025 Master’s to Doctoral Scholarship for Outstanding Bachelor’s Graduates (PMDSU) program. Distinguished guests in attendance included the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Prof. Ir. Togar Mangihut Simatupang, M.Tech., Ph.D., IPU); the Director General of Higher Education (Prof. Dr. Ir. Khairul Munadi, M.Eng.); the Special Staff to the Minister (Prof. Ir. I Gede Wenten, M.Sc., Ph.D.); the Director of Resources (Prof. Dr. Ir. Sri Suning Kusumawardani, S.T., M.T.); the Director of Learning and Student Affairs (Dr. Beny Bandanadjaja, S.T., M.T.); the Director of Research and Community Service (Prof. I Ketut Adnyana, M.Si., Ph.D.); the Head of the Sub-directorate for Lecturer and Educational Staff Development (Pauzan, S.Sos., M.Si.); the Head of the Administration Sub-division of the Directorate of Resources (Effi Setyowati, S.E.); the Head of the Lecturer and Educational Staff Qualification Development Team (Juniarti Duwi Lestari, M.Pd.); the Lecturer and Educational Staff Qualification Development Team; as well as PMDSU reviewers and Batch IX PMDSU scholarship recipients from various universities across Indonesia.
“Initially, I was contacted by Ms. Rizki Karya Utami, a member of the Team for Fostering Lecturer and Educational Staff Qualifications, to serve as the MC for the event. We coordinated the details, and Dio and I assisted by acting as MCs over the course of the two-day program,” said Yesita on Tuesday (30/9).
Yesita noted that this opportunity was invaluable for both her and Dio, serving as a platform to build connections with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, as well as with supervisors and students from across Indonesia. The orientation program was attended by 153 students from the PMDSU regular track and 10 students from the PMDSU joint-degree scheme, representing 27 public and private universities in Indonesia. A total of 147 accomplished supervisors guide these Cohort IX PMDSU students.
This year’s PMDSU student orientation featured a networking dinner on the first day, an opening ceremony and content sessions on the second day, and an activity report session on the final day. The theme of the orientation was “Young Doctors Creating Impact: Realizing a High-Impact Higher Education, Science, and Technology Sector.” The sessions covered topics such as a culture of academic excellence, policies for enhancing higher education human resources in pursuit of the “Golden Indonesia 2045” vision, adapting to postgraduate life, sharing sessions with PMDSU supervisors and alumni, PMDSU research grants, an overview of the PMDSU system (including the Simona platform and tracer studies), and a session titled “Spirit of the Nation: Fun and Games for Future Young Doctors.”
Original article: https://fapet.ugm.ac.id/mahasiswa-s3-fapet-ugm-jadi-mc-pembekalan-karyasiswa-pmdsu-angkatan-ix/
Translated by: Sarah Suminar