The Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) officially opened the 2025 Summer Course Program with the theme “Smart City, Digital Transformation and Society in Southeast Asia.” The opening ceremony was held on June 23, 2025, at 09:00 AM (WIB) in a hybrid format — online via Zoom and onsite at the Indonesia Room, 2nd Floor of the PSSAT Building, Universitas Gadjah Mada’s Inter-University Center (PAU) Building.
The program was officially opened by the Head of CESASS UGM and Program Coordinator, Prof. Dr. Rini Rachmawati, S.Si., M.T., who also delivered an opening speech that included a report on the summer course activities. In her remarks, Prof. Dr. Rini Rachmawati, S.Si., M.T. expressed her appreciation to all the summer course lecturers, who are colleagues from 12 countries: Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, China, Germany, Finland, Romania, Nigeria, the Netherlands, the United States, and Brazil. She also acknowledged the contributions of domestic partners from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), and Universitas Indonesia (UI). Appreciation was also extended to the UGM Directorate of Partnerships and Global Relations for providing a grant that supported the implementation of this summer course for the second time. Gratitude was likewise expressed to the Faculty of Geography UGM for its support and collaboration in organizing this event. The next speech was delivered by the Dean of the Faculty of Geography UGM, Prof. Muhammad Kamal, S.Si., M.GIS., Ph.D. Remarks were also given by the Director of Partnerships and Global Relations, Prof. Dr. Puji Astuti, S.Si., M.Sc. Several speakers of the program were also present and had the opportunity to share a few words with the participants.
The program was attended by 73 participants from 17 countries, participating both onsite and online. It consisted of 56 international participants and 17 local participants. The countries represented included Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Taiwan, India, Pakistan, Yemen, Jordan, Nigeria, Romania, and Brazil.
The opening ceremony concluded with a group photo session, marking the beginning of a series of activities to be held over the coming days. On the same day, two lecture sessions took place. The first session covered the topic “Introduction to Smart City, Digital Transformation, and Society in Southeast Asia,” while the second session discussed “Understanding Cities and Identification of Problems (The Urgency of Smart City).” Both sessions were delivered by Prof. Dr. Rini Rachmawati, S.Si., M.T.
Writer: Mellyana Nungki Pramitha