The Postgraduate Association (HMP) of the Faculty of Animal Science UGM carried out the Handover of Position activities by HMP for the 2020-2021 period for the 2021-2022 period. This activity was held online on Thursday, April 8, 2021. The activity was attended by old and new HMP administrators, Prof. Ir. Budi Guntoro, S.Pt., M.Sc., Ph.D., IPU., ASEAN Eng. as Deputy Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Ir. Yuni Erwanto, S.Pt., MP., Ph.D., IPM. as the Head of the Animal Science Doctoral Study Program, and Ir. Muhlisin, S.Pt., M.Agri., Ph.D., IPP., as the supervisor of the Faculty of Animal Science UGM. The series of handover activity began with virtual singing of the Indonesia Raya song and Gadjah Mada Hymn, then continued with remarks, handover of positions, prayers, and group photos. 

The first speech was delivered by Gery Andesitian, Chair of the 2020-2021 HMP. In his remarks, Gery said that HMP was established on August 11, 2011, to be a means of conveying input and suggestions from students to academics, and from academics to students. The second speech by Prof. Budi Guntoro explained more about the roles and functions of HMP, including being able to play an active role in activities such as virtual mobilization through joint graduate seminars to demonstrate the existence of HMP.

The handover activity was led by the HMP supervisor, Ir. Muhlisin, S.Pt., M.Agri., Ph.D., IPP. so that the leadership of HMP which was previously led by Gery Andesitian was officially handed over to Moh Ihsan Zain as the new chairman. Muhlisin advised the new administrators to be able to take part in faculty activities such as seminars and public lectures, as well as become a bridge from the students to the faculty. Moh. Ihsan Zain, the new chairman of the HMP, said that the new board wanted to be active in activities like webinars, professional skills updates, university seminars in ASEAN, and improving student skills. The handover of the position was closed with a prayer by Misbah Husolli and a group photo session.

Postgraduate Faculty of Animal Science UGM held a public lecture with the theme “Publication of Articles in Scientific Journals.” The meeting discussed the preparation of manuscripts, selecting journals, and submissions. The lecture will be held online on Wednesday, April 7, 2021.

Abdul Rohman, Ph.D. from the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Science and Technology, the Institute for Halal Industry and System (PUI-PT IHIS) Universitas Gadjah Mada, was a speaker at the article publication event. Abdul explained that some materials support the making of articles until they are published, “In the results and discussion sections, the pictures and tables should be referred in the text. The main findings should be presented in a table or figure. Things that also need to be considered include not repeating the mention of the results frequently but directly to the focus of the discussion, not being wordy, and writing the main findings in independent figures and tables, ” said Abdul.

The event was held with a material presentation by Abdul Rohman and then continued with activities to review journal articles made by the participants. Reference making is discussed in-depth with the Mendeley reference generation system. Abdul gave suggestions to the participants regarding journal making. A journal intended for publication in English would be best made with “Don’t start with native,” which means that articles made directly into English, not Indonesian, are converted to English.

The Postgraduate Student Association or Himpunan Mahasiswa Pascasarjana (HMP) Fapet UGM held a Public Lecture “Potential of Sorghum as a Plant in the Land and the Dry Season.” The activity was carried out on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, online. Head of the Animal Science Major of Faculty of Animal Science, University of Papua, Evi Warintan Saragih, S.Pt., M.Sc., Ph.D., and Lecturer of Animal Science Major of Faculty of Animal Science UGM, Dr. Ir. Bambang Suhartanto, DEA., IPU., were the speaker at the event.

Evi Warintan discussed specifically local grass in Papua, named Sorghum Sudanense. Sorghum Sudanense is a source of local forage in Papua. Based on research, the cultivation of Sorghum Sudanense used a spacing of 50 x 30 or 60 x 60, with pols planting material. Harvesting the grass is carried out at the age of 30-45 days. The research results on animal feed showed that the addition of supplements (rumen fluid) to sorghum grass silage could improve quality. The grass products have been made into wafer and silage,”said Evi.

The issue of ruminant feed was the opening of the material presented by Bambang Suhartanto. In this material, the problem of forage in Indonesia related to its availability was influenced by one of factors, like season factor. Indonesia is a tropical country with two extreme seasons, the rainy and dry seasons. This season affects the fluctuations in the production of forage plant biomass. The production of plant biomass will be low in the dry season. This case needs to be considered, regarding the high cost of feed and production of ruminants is also limited and expensive.

The Postgraduate Association of the Faculty of Animal Science UGM held a General Lecture with the theme “Papua Native Pasture and Superior Forage Cultivation.” The meeting was held online on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Materials were given by two speakers. Evi Warintan Saragih, S.Pt., M.Sc., Ph.D. (Head of the Faculty of Animal Husbandry Department, University of Papua) delivered material related to “Papua native pasture.” Material on superior forage cultivation was delivered by Ir. Nafiatul Umami, S.Pt., M.Sc., Ph.D., IPM., ASEAN Eng. (Head of the Postgraduate Study Program in Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada).

Evi Warintan Saragih conveyed things related to natural grazing in West Papua. The dominant type of grass in pasture is grass with an amount of more than 5%. Dominant species of grass, legumes, and weeds were also reviewed. Potential grasses and legumes can be studied further for the development of beef cattle, especially in West Papua.

“Forage plants are not only concerned with superior species but also about their management. One of the grass products is Gama Umami grass which is the result of mutation of elephant grass by being irradiated with gamma rays. This grass has a superior quality to its parents. Studies related to forage plants need further development so that it takes into account their management as well so that it can increase the productivity of our livestock, “said Nafiatul Umami.

Postgraduate Program of Faculty of Animal Science UGM held a Public Lecture “Application of R-Statistical Software in Research Data Analysis in the Field of Animal Nutrition.” The lecture was held on Wednesday, 17 March 2021. Ahmad Sofyan, S.Pt., M.Sc., Ph.D. from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences or Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI), was the speaker of the public lecture, guided by the moderator Dr. Ir. Chusnul Hanim, M.Sc., IPM., ASEAN Eng., a lecturer at the Faculty of Animal Science UGM.

In his lecture, Ahmad Soyfan conveyed program introduction, problematic experiments, experimental design, data analysis (ANOVA and ANCOVA), and further information. Participants needed to analyze several case studies and provided usable research designs. The speaker also conveyed the research systematics so the research could be published, included several stages such as designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, writing or drafting and proofing English, submitting or selecting journals, and journals being accepted or published.

“The experimental design is different between homogeneous and heterogeneous samples. For example, a homogeneous sample with one treatment factor can use a rancangan acak lengkap (RAL) or a completely randomized design (CRD). A heterogeneous sample consists of a single block and a double block. In one treatment factor, for a single block, uses a rancangan acak kelompok (RAK) or a completely randomized block design (RBD). The stage for a double block uses bujur sangkar latin (BSL) or a Latin Square Design (LSD),” said Ahmad Sofyan. Related materials and recommendations for journal publication were explained by the speaker.

Postgraduate Program of Faculty of Animal Science UGM held a public lecture with the theme “Implementation of Radiation in Feed Plant Breeding and Its Prospects in the Future.” The meeting was held online on Monday, March 8, 2021. The Head of the UGM Animal Science Master Study Program, Ir. Nafiatul Umami, S.Pt., M.P., Ph.D., IPM., together with researcher from the Center for Isotope and Radiation Applications of the National Nuclear Energy Agency (PAIR BATAN), Dr. Teguh Wahyono, S.Pt., M.Si. be a speaker at the event.

One of the applications of radiation in forage plant breeding is the use of gamma radiation. It is based on the nature of radiation, which is ionizing radiation, has good penetrability, and can interact with water, DNA, chromosomes, and cells. Another thing that was revealed is related to mutations. Mutations can help develop new, superior plant varieties.

Forage plant breeding in Indonesia has been able to produce several new, superior plants. Examples are elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and king grass (Pennisetum purpupoides) which can withstand drought and lamtoro which can withstand acidic soils. The forage plant variety that has been released in Indonesia is the Steno Agrinak grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum var Steno Agrinak) developed by the Agricultural Research and Development Agency. The speakers said that the application of radiation to feed developed along with the development of technology and still had bright prospects.

The Postgraduate Program at the Faculty of Animal Science UGM held a Public Lecture with the theme Application of Biotechnology in the Animal Husbandry Sector. The keynote speaker from the Public Lecture was Dr. Muhammad Arief Budiman, who serves as Senior Scientist-Orion Genomics, and USA Director- PT Orion Biosains. The event was moderated by the Head of the Postgraduate Study Program, Ir. Nafiatul Umami, S.Pt., MP., Ph.D., IPM., ASEAN Eng. The lecture was held online on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.

“Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) can be used as a means to develop agriculture through biotechnology. This is done by transferring genes between different species or with foreign DNA,” said Dr. Arief Budiman in his presentation of the material presented. Apart from that, he also discussed the comparison of De novo reference genome sequencing and genome resequencing.

Materials related to bioinformatic were presented with the benefits obtained when there was integrated genome research. Genome discovery also can be applied with DNA marker technology. The discovery of the genome of the SHELL gene in palm oil, as long as innovations in the palm oil industry add clarity to the application of biotechnology. The lecture material was closed with an explanation about genomic research in Indonesia.

On Friday, February 19, 2021, the Faculty of Animal Science (Fapet) Postgraduate Program held an event related to UGM values. The meeting was held online. The event discussed the intricacies of the spatial planning and philosophy of Gadjah Mada University.

Dr. Heri Santoso, Lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy UGM as a speaker in the UGM values ​​event, explained things such as the area of UGM university. He said that each tree and its arrangement have its meaning. The philosophy of compliance with plants on the Boulevard symbolizes Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. The banyan tree in Pancasila Field symbolizes the spirit of society and protection, as well as many other explanations of the philosophy of plant arrangement at UGM.

“… This building, built with Indonesian people’s money, thus actually belongs to the people and for the people” (Soekarno, 1959). This quote is one of the quotes from Ir. Soekarno’s speech in the inauguration of UGM Central Building in 1959, which was explained by the speaker, Dr. Heri Susanto. The philosophical value of the construction of the Universitas Gadjah Mada Central Building is that the building uses people’s money, so that’s why it belongs to the people and for the people. Apart from the philosophy behind the construction of the Universitas Gadjah Mada Central Building, values ​​about symbols, identity, the values of Universitas Gadjah Mada, the meaning of Gadjah Mada, Universitas Gadjah Mada symbol, Gadjah Mada Hymne, Universitas Gadjah Mada flag, Universitas Gadjah Mada vision and mission, and Universitas Gadjah Mada values ​​are Pancasila and science were also reviewed in depth.

Faculty of Animal Science UGM has welcomed 19 new Postgraduate Program students. These students include 14 Master Program students and 5 Doctoral program students and accepted at the Admission of New Student Admissions for the Even Semester Postgraduate Program in the 2020/2021 academic year. Activities carried out on Monday, February 8, 2021.

Prof. Dr. Ir. Ali Agus, DAA., DEA., IPU., ASEAN. Eng, in his remarks, explained that the accreditation of the Postgraduate Program from AUN guarantees that the quality of education is by following under the principles of appreciation and alignment with international higher education quality assurance, and now the Postgraduate Program is in the process of obtaining ASIIN accreditation. The faculty also builds connections with the world of the industry that can facilitate student research.

The study interests offered in the Master Program include Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, Animal Production System, Policy and Livestock Business, Animal Products Technology, and Tropical Animal Reproduction and Breeding. There are also five types of study interests offered in the Doctoral Program, including Animal Nutrition and Forage, Animal Production Systems, Animal Husbandry Social Economics, Animal Product Technology, and Tropical Animal Reproduction and Breeding. Pieces of information of interest in this study were informed by the Head of Doctoral Study Program Faculty of Animal Science UGM, Prof. Yuny Erwanto, S.Pt., M.P., Ph.D., IPM. at the academic information presentation session.

The Library of the Faculty of Animal Science (Fapet) UGM held a “Library Socialization.” The meeting was held on Thursday, January 7, 2021. The activity was carried out online. Drs. Tri Septiyantono, M.Sc., Head of the Faculty of Animal Science Library, was the speaker.

The information conveyed at the socialization event included the definition of a library, information resources, requirements for using the library, assistance, and library services, also information about using the menu on the library website. “Students at UGM can use all available information resources in all libraries in UGM,” said Tri Septiyantono.

Visitors can access many things in the library. The library provides a direct service with many kinds of books stored in the library. Learning support textbooks, scientific journals, repositories are also available, both printed and electronic. Students can search for sources of information using the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). The library also provides online database search assistance for journals and electronic books. The journals access from national and international and other sources, can be accessed within the campus and outside the campus by visiting http://lib.ugm.ac.id, and http://ezproxy.ugm.ac.id when from outside the campus.