A secretary has an important role to help the chairman to do his job. To be a secretary is not easy. You have to be nimble, careful, good at communicating, and confident; furthermore, you have to be patient and considerate in managing your time. You have to do your job quickly but carefully. Do not let your negligence at work make you lose your job. A secretary must have pressure at work because her work is quite difficult.

(Sunday, September 12th, 2021). The Ministry of Secretary BEM REMA cabinet carried out a Student Organization Secretary Forum (FSO) and this event has the theme “Secretary Hacks to Help Your Work in Pandemic Era”.  “This event was carried out as a meeting place between the secretaries of student organizations at UPI”, said Andjani Putri from Accounting Education major as a Chief Executive on this event. This event was also carried out to share about bureaucracy and how to manage a household at UPI.

Student Organization Secretary Forum (FSO) was attended by Mrs. Shindy Diah Ayu Lestari, S.IP., M.Hub.Int., as a personal secretary of Governor of West Java, Dr. H. Moch. Ridwan Kamil, S.T., M.U.D.  Many people outside UPI asked the committee to make the event accessible to the general public because Mrs. Shindy was a speaker. At first, FSO was attended by the Secretary of Student Organization, Secretary of Student Activity Units, and Secretary Organization from Regional Campus; however, the event was to be attended by many people outside the university. The participants from outside UPI were very amazing. There were Secretary of BPOM West Java, Deputy of General Secretary AAI National Archives, Secretary of BUMD/BUMN, and the Chief Archives of Universitas Padjadjaran.

Student Organization Secretary Forum discussed the tips to be productive in the pandemic situation and a bureaucratic process at UPI. There were two sessions. The first session discussed how to be productive in the pandemic situation by Mrs. Shindy Diah Ayu Lestari, S.IP., M.Hub.Int. The participants were very enthusiastic in heard the explanation and active in the question and answer sessions. She told the participants a little about her job. She also shared how she managed her time between her work and her family; in addition, she shared her tips to always be productive as a secretary in pandemic situations.

The second session discussed a bureaucratic flow at UPI. The discussion was divided into five breakout rooms. There were FIP, FPOK, FPSD, and FPMIA at the first room; FPBS, FPTK, FPIPS, FPEB at the second room; then, Regional Organization (ORDA) at the third room; Student Activity Units (UKM) at the fourth room; and the last, Regional Campus at the fifth room (KAMDA). At the second breakout room, the material was explained by Venita Risadilla from English Language and Literature major. She explained the activity permit flow, proposal submission flow, loan funds flow, and many others.  Even though the second session was carried out in the afternoon, the participants were still excited and heard the explanation so well.

The event helped the secretaries well, especially for the new Student Activity Units (UKM) Secretary. BEM REMA made a guidebook about secretarial Organizations at UPI to answer the question about the bureaucratic flow at UPI. The guidebook contained 54 pages, including BEM REMA cabinet data and the bureaucrat data. In addition, there were also the bureaucratic flow at UPI and procedures for writing organization administrative products at UPI. The purpose was to make it easier for organizational secretaries to manage administration at UPI.

The pandemic situation did not make the committee gave up to carried out the event. Even though the event cannot be carried out offline, it can be carried out online with any support application to meet. Student Organization Secretary Forum 2021 carried out on Zoom Application. Due to limitations to meet, the committee chooses Zoom Application as a medium to carry out this event. Student Organization Secretary Forum was a work program in the Ministry of Secretary BEM REMA cabinet that carried out the event periodically. In previous years (before the pandemic), the event was held offline at FPIPS building.

Based on my interview with Andjani Putri from an Accounting Education major at UPI, as a Chief Executive of this event, she was very grateful and happy because this event was carried out so well. The event was a success because it only with three weeks of preparation. At first, the committee did not put a high expectation because they planned to share a piece of knowledge about secretarial with the organizational secretary at UPI. They were happy because there were many participants inside and outside the university.  For your information, this event was carried out without media partners and sponsorship.

This event was helpful, especially for all secretaries of organizations at UPI. The secretaries got a lot of knowledge here. They got tips on how to be productive in the pandemic situation and also a bureaucratic flow. I am sure there were still many organizational secretaries at UPI who did not understand the flow of the bureaucracy; therefore, they could join this event. I appreciated BEM REMA that has to carry out this event; moreover, they also made a guidebook to help the secretaries of organization at UPI. Hopefully, this event can carry out again next year and can carry out offline, to be more fun. (Azzahra Latansa Maula, English Literature Study Program, FPBS, UPI)

When asked about their university life, a lot of pupils—with a certain amount of sadness and desperation in their tone—would answer how it is draining, rigorous, and serious when it comes to pursuing their degree. However, college is not always about achieving excellent results in the formal learning process. It is also about the experience gained from making friends, contributing to society (by volunteering, for example), and especially being a part of an organization/extracurricular club.

Everyone must have their particular perspective and reasons for participating in one, and Dine Hasya Dwifa, an Indonesian literature student of UPI, was no exception. “I believe taking part in activities outside the academic realm is important. Since I am fond of acquiring new things [knowledge and skills], I think joining a club can be favorable for me in maximizing my opportunities,” she described through an interview over text.

It is a well-known fact that Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) is the home of many student activity units involved in a vast area of interests, ranging from intellectual to recreational. In the art and literature field alone, there are approximately ten different communities. Some examples are KABUMI, Lakon Teater, and ASAS—respectively, specializing in traditional art, theatrical performance, and literature.

Arena Studi Apresiasi Sastra (ASAS) has been around for quite a long time. Sometime in the early 90s, a group of literary connoisseurs among students came up with the idea of founding this organization, hoping to accommodate and develop people’s interests and talents in creative writing. This idea was derived from their observation and concern about the sluggish passion for literature among students in IKIP (former name of UPI) and the public. The vision was later realized on December 12^th, 1991, and they are still flourishing up to this day.

Their activities mainly revolve around reading, writing, and analyzing the characteristics and meaning behind written works from different media. Furthermore, they also offer multiple classes.

Nurul Azkya, a former prospective member of ASAS from batch 2020, stated that the writing class was the most exciting one. “All of the lessons [regarding poetry, short story, and essay] are beneficial for me in appreciating more about literary arts, and many of the theories helped me to understand some subjects in class,” she explained in an exchange via a messaging platform on September 27th.

Regarding the essential program, Azkya described that the members are expected to produce a piece of writing or two of their specialties, such as poem or prose. Later, the other members will appreciate the outcome through virtual meetings. Even though she could not continue her journey as ASAS’s official member due to personal reasons, Azkya is still delighted to have had a chance to be a part of the community for quite some time and received much knowledge about Indonesian and foreign literature.

There are also some student activity units engaged in the communication field. They are typically involved in all things related to the media and journalism, one of which is Suara Kampus Radio (eSKa). Earlier in September, eSKa posted an announcement of a recruitment program on its website and Instagram account. The information attracted many students, including Dine.

However, unlike Azkya, Dine has only decided to enroll in an organizational activity this semester. The reason is that she needed some time to adapt first. “When I got into college, it felt as if I needed some time to get used to the pretty hectic schedule and routines. I was also worried that I might be inconsistent [if I joined an extracurricular club early]. Since I am getting better at managing and enjoying my time, I am now determined to learn new things in the extracurricular that I am interested in.”

By pitching in, she hopes to give her best contribution and build a great relationship with new people she will meet in the future. From both experiences above, it can be deduced that joining an organization will always have its ups and downs. On the positive side, the members will have a better understanding of a particular subject. They will also have more experiences, friends, even achievements.

On the other hand, they can feel overwhelmed in managing and balancing their time if they do not think it through. Therefore, it can be concluded that it does not matter whether the student will take part in an activity outside of the normal curriculum right away (in the freshman year) or later in the following semesters. What matters is their readiness and steadiness in facing the incoming responsibilities. No need to rush things; when the time is right, it will happen naturally. (Prudence A., English Literature Study Program, FPBS, UPI)

Now, more than two years into the Coronavirus Pandemic, universities appear to have fully adapted to the online learning system to accommodate student’s learning activities. Even under the pandemic limitations, it is not impossible to develop the students’ learning quality. Many programs may have come to a hold; however, it is possible to overcome those limitations with the help of technology. With the increase of online learning platforms and their efficiency, students are able to enjoy campus activities from the comfort of their homes. The Chemistry Education Department at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia has successfully utilized technology to hold several online activities amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2021.

Chemistry EXPO

Chemistry EXPO is one of the major annual activities conducted by the Chemistry Students Association. The Chemistry EXPO has been successfully held for 24 times. This year, the theme of the Chemistry EXPO is “RESONANCE: Chemistry’s Contribution on Healthcare and Education toward Society 5.0”. Eligible participants of this EXPO varied from high school students to teachers depending on the kind of event. The Chemistry EXPO consisted of several events such as ASTRA (Asah Terampil Kimia), Chemistry Creative Contest, Chemistry Teaching Contest, Open Laboratory, National – International Seminar, and Exhibition Chemistry.

CST (Chemistry Spo[a]rt Tournament)

After the series of events at Chemistry EXPO, another activity was held by the Chemistry Students Association. CST (Chemistry Spo[a]rt Tournament) is an event aimed at the students of Chemistry Education Department. CST consisted of several competitions such as Mobile Legend Tournament, Drawing Competition, Poster Design Competition, Poetry Competition, Photography Competition, Workout Challenge, and Song Cover.

In the middle of this Coronavirus Pandemic, the whole CST event was fully organized online. Luckily there were no competitions that required direct contact with other competitors. The chemistry students seemed enthusiastic throughout the whole CST event for their desire to compete and win was really big.

The Chemistry Students Association put in their all for the success of CST. They wanted to create an event where their fellow chemistry students could enjoy themselves aside from the mountain of homework and assignments. The whole process wasn’t always smooth; there were twists and turns, but CST ended without an issue.

“CST made me have mixed feelings, happiness, sadness, excitement and even anxiety.” said Risdan, a member of the CST committee.

Visiting Professor Lectures The Chemistry Education Department invited lecturers from various universities abroad to teach online classes at UPI. This is a part of the Visiting Professor Series

supported by KEMDIKBUD RISTEKDIKTI through the World Class University Grant. The online classes with the visiting lecturers were held via zoom platform and live streamed via YouTube for the public. Some of the classes have ended, but a few are still ongoing. It is such a valuable opportunity for students to be thought by those lecturers. Being able to learn the knowledge from overseas scholars would certainly broaden their horizon.

In this semester, many visiting lecturers are from different universities abroad covering various subjects in the chemistry curriculum: first, Dr. Shangeetha Ganesan from Universiti Sains Malaysia covering Chemical Kinetics, second, Assoc. Prof. Mageswary Karpudewan, Ph.D. from Universiti Sains Malaysia covering Research Methodology in Chemistry Education, third, Prof. Supa Hannongbua from Kasetsart University covering Computational Chemistry, fourth, Prof. Naresh Kumar from University of New South Wales covering Organic Chemistry, and lastly, Prof. Lee Wah Lim from Gifu University covering Separation Chemistry.

Virtual Graduation

Still amidst the raging Coronavirus Pandemic, the Chemistry Education Department held their graduations online via zoom platform. A total of three waves of virtual graduation were held this year. There were many differences in every wave of virtual graduation ceremony, such as the theme, technical preparations, and the amount of participants.

There are many sections in the rundown of virtual graduation ceremonies.  The amount of sections varied depending on the planning and the theme. Although it may not be the same as an offline graduation, the committee really did their best to provide a memorable virtual graduation for the graduates. Many lecturers also did not fail to attend and congratulate their students.

The second wave of graduation had the least participants among the three waves. This second wave of graduation could be called a small event compared to other waves of graduation. According to the chief committee, this wave of graduation ceremony was easier to handle due to the small amount of graduates.

“Other graduations must be much longer because of the high number of graduates. Furthermore, offline graduations will also take longer because of the complicated preparation for technical things; online graduation is more practical.” said Dwi Putri, the Chief Committee of the Second Wave of Chemistry Education Department’s Graduation Ceremony.

As long as the Coronavirus Pandemic is still ongoing, most campus activities onward will likely be held online. Even though the situation and vibes might not be the same as having offline activities on campus, it will still be memorable and fun. The Chemistry Students Association and the Chemistry Education Department’s Staff members really wish to give the students a wonderful online campus experience, in hopes that the students could happily enjoy their studies at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. (Dilah Ratna Kartika, Mahasiswa Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris, FPBS UPI)

UPI provides various choices of Unit Kegiatan Mahasiswa (Students’ Unions) that can accommodate students’ talents and interests, ranging from the fields of science to culture, language, and sports. One of the UKMs at UPI that can develop students’ potential in the language field is the English Debating Society (EDS).

EDS UKM is an activity that focuses on debating using English about current social and political issues discussed in society. In addition, there are also external and internal activities. One of the external activities is to hold an event called UPI UNION where EDS members usually have a debate among themselves watched by students interested in debating and which can also be attended by participants from the general public, including students outside UPI. Moreover, EDS members also conduct Class 101 that teachings the basics of debating and information on English competition such as speech, storytelling, and others.

For internal activities, they usually hold meetings twice a week, and the meeting is used for discussion and debate practice among EDS members, to develop debating skills. From these various activities, UKM EDS can accommodate the talents of students in the language field, especially English. For this period, UKM EDS was chaired by Jonathan, a student majoring in computer engineering, FPMIPA 2018.

This year, UKM EDS participated in an annual competition organized by the Directorate General of Learning and Student Affairs, namely the National University Debating Championship (NUDC). There are 112 teams that have participated in this year’s NUDC competition which are representatives from various universities in Indonesia, Representatives from UPI are students who have been selected by UKM EDS.

Intan Anisya Puspa Jelita is one of the students who passed the selection, who passed the selection to represent the UPI team. She is a student majoring in English language and literature 2020 from class 3B. In an interview with Intan, she said that participating in this event was not easy. She had to take part in NUDC selection and training to prepare debate materials. Intan and her partner Adinda Putri Gunawan made preparations for this NUDC competition for about 5 months. For the debate material, Intan said, “The material we talk about the most are social issues in society, and also issues related to international relations”.

NUDC has been held  through Zoom Meeting from August 24 to 30, 2021. Of all the 112 teams that took part in this debate competition, the TEAM from UPI, represented by Intan Anisa and Adinda, made it to the Semifinals in the Novice Category. Those are the Semifinalists from the UPI team who became the 8 Best Teams. (Siti Hana Nurhasanah, Mahasiswa Prodi Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris, FPBS, UPI)

BANDUNG – The Ministry of Youth and Sports appointed the Indonesian University of Education as the host for the Socialization of the Great Design of National Sports (DBON). This activity was held on Wednesday (17/11/ 2021) at The Pullman Hotel Bandung.

This socialization contains lectures on DBON as the implementation of the long-term national sports coaching and development policy direction. This policy is contained in Presidential Regulation Number 86 of 2021 concerning the Grand Design of National Sports.

DBON has a scope that includes the sports industry, recreational sports, achievement sports, as well as educational sports.

The Dean of FPOK, Dr. Boyke Mulyana, M.Pd., explained that UPI through its lecturers contributed ideas related to the design of this DBON.

He added that this Presidential Regulation is the first fundamental principle of the sports sector in Indonesia so that it will have a major impact on the progress of sports nationally.

Thus the sports sector can further boost the good name of the nation in the international arena. (Nabitah Hurroh, Jurnalistik 2019)