22 Apr 2016

From humble background to Rector of  Universitas Gadjah Mada

Professor Dr Pratikno, an AIDAB scholarship recipient completing his PhD in Political Science from Flinders University in 1997, was recently inaugurated as the Rector of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta Special District, Indonesia.

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Born in 1962 in a remote village in East Java that had access to electricity only as recently as 1994, Professor Dr Pratikno did not let his humble beginnings deter him from his ambitions.  He graduated from UGM in 1985 with an undergraduate degree in Governance to later become a lecturer at his alma mater.  Always one to apply theoretical teachings with a practical application, Professor Dr Pratikno established a not-for-profit organisation, Asosiasi untuk Demokrasi dan Kesejahteraan Sosial (Asociation for Democracy and Social Welfare), in 2005.  Other community involvement came about through his appointment by the Governor of Yogyakarta Special District as a committee member for the Human Rights National Action Plan for the province.

Going into 2012 and Professor Dr Pratikno, as the current Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Science at UGM, won the election to become Rector in a landslide vote.  He will commence a five-year term on 28 May 2012.  Amongst his election promises, Professor Dr Pratikno has pledged to oversee the process of democratisation at UGM and to engage the academic community in policy making.  He sees prioritising “community spirit” as key to this, arguing that “a rector is nothing if he does not synergise”.

Photograph source: www.victorynewsmedia.com
Data source: http://www.ugm.ac.id/ and Australia Awards database

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