Leni Firda Kurnia Sari, a student of the Bachelor’s Program in Javanese Language Education at the Faculty of Language, Arts, and Culture (FBSB), Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY), has achieved an outstanding cumulative GPA of 3.99 despite facing early doubts about going to university.

Leni’s academic journey did not begin smoothly. After graduating from SMKN 2 Pengasih, Kulonprogo, she stood at a crossroads between working immediately or continuing to university, but financial limitations made higher education feel like a distant dream.

A group of students from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) has once again made a mark on the national stage through its community empowerment initiatives. The Program Penguatan Kapasitas Organisasi Kemahasiswaan (PPK Ormawa) team from the MIPA Debate Club (MDC) of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) at UNY won the Silver Award (Best Second Place) in the category “Teams with Outcomes That Can Be Adopted Nationally” at the Abdidaya Ormawa 2025 national competition, held at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang.

Music is often associated with sound and hearing, but that assumption has been challenged by research conducted by Dr. Drijastuti Jogjaningrum, a lecturer in Music Arts Education at the Faculty of Language, Arts, and Culture, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY). Through her research, she has shown that deaf children can still make music using a multisensory learning approach that goes beyond auditory perception.

On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta officially inaugurated three female professors in a formal ceremony held in the Main Meeting Room of the Rectorate. This event was not just an academic formality, but a crucial moment for UNY to strengthen the strategic roles of women academics and accelerate interdisciplinary knowledge development to address increasingly complex global challenges.

On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) held a briefing and send-off for hundreds of students participating in the Community Service Program (KKN) and/or Educational Practice (PK) for the Even Semester of Academic Year 2025/2026 at Gedung Imam Barnadib. The event marked the official start of their community engagement and field learning — a manifestation of the Tri Dharma Perguruan Tinggi (three pillars of higher education: education, research, and community service).

The pride of Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY), the Garuda UNY Team, has officially announced its readiness to compete again on the international stage. The team will depart for the Lusail Circuit, Qatar, to participate in the prestigious Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia-Pacific and Middle East 2026, held from January 21–26, 2026.

On Saturday, January 10, 2026, 110 students from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) along with students from partner universities were deployed in the Collaborative Humanitarian Community Service Program (KKN Kemanusiaan) in Aceh Tamiang Regency. The send-off ceremony at the Manyak Payed Subdistrict Office marked the official start of their service to help support communities in recovery after floods and landslides.

The severe flooding in Aceh at the end of November 2025 became the most difficult experience in the life of Dr. Nurdin, an alumnus of the Doctoral Program in Educational Research and Evaluation at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY), who witnessed his hometown in Peureulak, East Aceh Regency turn into a sea of water and mud after days of nonstop rain.

Continuing the agenda after the opening of the Collaborative Humanitarian KKN, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) took further real action in response to the post-flood situation in Aceh. On Friday afternoon (9 January 2026), the UNY team spread out to various locations in East Aceh Regency and Langsa City to distribute donations, provide free health services, and hand over financial assistance to UNY alumni and students affected by the floods.

In the early mornings in his hometown of Purworejo, Rohmat Wibowo’s day began with the sounds of hoes and footsteps in the rice fields, where his father, Rajiya, worked as a farmer and occasionally sold dawet (a traditional drink) to help support the family. His mother, Sugiatmi, was a homemaker. Growing up in this humble environment, Rohmat learned the values of hard work, patience, and the belief that education is the path out of limitations.