Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM), represented by the Head of the Program and Publication, Dr. phil. Vissia Ita Yulianto, hosted a visit by Dr. Rizanna Rosemary from Pusat Riset Ilmu Sosial dan Budaya (Research Center for Social and Cultural Studies) at Universitas Syiah Kuala (PRISB USK) on Monday, November 17, 2025.

Dr. Rizanna introduced USK’s new Master’s Program in Peace and Conflict Resolution (MDRK), rooted in Aceh’s historical experience in peacebuilding and social transformation. She also invited CESASS to collaborate through guest lectures, joint seminars, academic exchanges, or research partnerships. read more

On November 13, 2025, the former Director of CESASS UGM, Prof. Dr. Rini Rachmawati, S.Si., M.T. and Nurina Aulia Haris met with representatives from Puey Ungphakorn School of Development Studies (PSDS), Thammasat University, including Dr. Nuttavikhom Phantuwongpakdee (Dr. Kay), an International Affairs Staff, and two students. During the meeting, the team discussed potential collaborations that PSDS and CESASS can build to support the students. During the meeting, the team discussed potential areas of collaboration that PSDS and CESASS can pursue to support students. read more

The SEASREP 2025 Conference marked the 30th anniversary of the Southeast Asian Studies Regional Exchange Program (SEASREP). The conference took place at the Institute of East Asian Studies of Thammasat University, Thailand, and gathered scholars, practitioners, and long-time supporters of Southeast Asian Studies. It was not only an academic event but also a celebration of the thirty years of SEASREP’s contribution to the empowerment of scholarship in the region.

The conference opened with a keynote speech by Dr. Maria Serena Diokno, Co-Founder of SEASREP. During her speech, she looked back at how SEASREP had developed over the years since its inception to become a foundation that assists Southeast Asian scholars to study their own region. She highlighted SEASREP’s long-standing role in providing scholarships, fostering academic networks, and encouraging young researchers to pursue Southeast Asian languages as part of their scholarly training. Prof. Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri and Prof. Dr. Taufik Abdullah, who are two other SEASREP co-founders, were invited to the conference as special guests, thus highlighting the importance of this milestone celebration. read more

As a multidisciplinary research center, the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) offers interns in the CESASS Internship Program diverse learning experiences. In addition to participating in CESASS’s internal activities, interns are encouraged to take part in various external engagements, such as public lectures, seminars, academic fairs, training, cultural events, exhibitions, and conferences.

This time, one of the international interns from the  Vrije Universiteit, Netherlands, Hüdanur Yildirim, had the opportunity to participate in the 13th International Graduate Students and Scholars’ Conference in Indonesia (IGSSCI) with the theme “Navigating the Future: Strengthening Resilience Through Global Collaboration Towards World Peace”, hosted by the Graduate School UGM and held on 4–5 November 2025. read more

On Friday, November 14, 2025, the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) welcomed representatives of the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (Acicis) to discuss the ongoing progress of the internship program currently hosted at CESASS UGM under the CESASS Internship Program.

This semester, three Acicis students are undertaking their internship at CESASS through Acicis’s Flexible Language Immersion Program (FLIP). As the internship has reached its halfway mark, the meeting served as an opportunity to evaluate the students’ ongoing activities, identify challenges, and discuss areas for improvement. read more

Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) held a meeting on Monday, November 10, 2025, to mark the handover of financial and activity reports.

The meeting was attended by Prof. Dr. Rini Rachmawati, S.Si., M.T., former Director of CESASS, and Dr. Wawan Mas’udi, S.IP., M.P.A., Ph.D., who currently serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM and is now acting as the Caretaker of CESASS, along with the CESASS team.

In addition to the report handover, the meeting also served as an opportunity for Dr. Wawan and the CESASS team to get to know each other and share insights about the center’s activities and direction. read more

The Academic Writing Workshop “Techniques and Ethics: Expanding Publication Opportunities in Scopus Indexing Journal” at the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) continued into its second day on Thursday, October 23, 2025. The session began with Dr. Dicky Sofyan from the Graduate School of UGM, who led an engaging and insightful discussion titled “Reality in Empirical Research.” With both in-person and online participants, the session was highly interactive and emphasized the importance of perspective in shaping how we understand the world. Dr. Dicky illustrated this using the well-known selective attention video exercise, where participants focused on counting the number of passes made by players and subsequently missed the unexpected appearance of a person in a gorilla suit. This activity highlighted how our attention can limit what we perceive, reminding researchers that what we observe is only a portion of the broader reality. read more

“How can we avoid unclear research objectives?”

This was the thought-provoking question posed by Dr. Indri Dwi Apriliyanti as she helped participants sharpen their ability to craft clear and focused research questions.

On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) successfully held a workshop on Academic Writing titled “Techniques and Ethics: Expanding Publication Opportunities in Scopus Indexing Journal,” bringing together participants from diverse academic backgrounds, such as Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Universitas Brawijaya, Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Sanata Dharma, UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya, and Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, to strengthen their research and writing skills. read more

“The Green Transition is hydrosocial, with real impacts in the here and now.” This argument was delivered by Adam Taylor from King’s College London during his presentation at the CESASS Talk Series hosted by the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) on September 22, 2025.

The presentation, titled “Desalination at Indonesia’s Industrial Frontier: Approaches to Water Scarcity in the Green Transition,” presented the early stages of his PhD research. His fieldwork will commence in 2026. read more

Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) participated in the Acicis NGO Fair 2025 on Thursday, 21 August 2025, at the front area of Margono Building (Greenland), Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM. Organized by the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (Acicis) and supported by the Australian Government, the fair brought together leading NGOs in Yogyakarta to introduce internship and volunteer opportunities.

CESASS UGM welcomed more than 50 local and international visitors to its booth. Visitors were introduced to the ongoing programs, research activities, and opportunities for students and partners to get involved. read more