A total of 388 students from various faculties at Universitas Gadjah Mada participated in the Japanese Class Nihongo No Nakama, held from 2-11 September 2024, at the Rachmiwaty Building of UGM’s Faculty of Agriculture. The event featured two student mentors from Yamagata University, Japan: Rina Shirahata from the Art Major, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Haruka Ishiguro from the Mass Media Communication Major, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Participants were divided into small groups of 30 people and engaged in learning Japanese, covering topics such as basic hiragana and katakana scripts, fundamental grammar, and daily conversations like greetings and self-introductions.
In addition to language lessons, participants had the opportunity to cook traditional Japanese dishes, including okonomiyaki, Japanese curry, and onigiri. These activities fostered an interactive learning environment, allowing participants to share knowledge about Japanese language and culture with one another.
“We were divided into groups with members from various faculties and different levels of Japanese proficiency. This made the class even more enjoyable, as we could exchange knowledge with each other,” said Irfan, a Japanese class participant from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
The series of activities introducing Japanese language and culture received an enthusiastic response from UGM students across faculties, reflecting their high interest in Japanese language and culture.
This event highlights the commitment of UGM’s Faculty of Agriculture to supporting the success of Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4:Quality Education and SDG 17:Partnerships for the Goals.
Writer: Karina Nisa Intan Kusuma, Ghorizatu Shofra
Editor: Agrit Kirana Bunda