Yogyakarta Cultural Showcase: UNU Jogja Delegation Wins 2nd Place Nationally at KMI Expo XVI 2025

Magelang, Indonesia — Students from UNU Jogja won 2nd Place at the National Cultural Parade during the 2025 KMI Expo, held at UNTIDAR Magelang from 19–21 November. The event, organized by the Directorate of Learning and Student Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, was attended by hundreds of public and private universities from across Indonesia.

This year, UNU Jogja sent three student entrepreneurship teams that successfully passed a rigorous selection process from thousands of national entries. The teams were Ngunjuk Degan Kalegan, Thematic and Local Cultural Tourism Package in Ngoro-oro Village, and Fresh Duck Eggs Directly from Quality Farmers.

At the venue, in addition to presenting their flagship products, all three teams also competed in the Cultural Parade, showcasing a performance themed Yogyakarta Traditions blended with elements of Central Java.

“In this performance, we highlighted Yogyakarta’s cultural traditions with a slight touch of Central Java to create a unique identity distinct from other universities in Yogyakarta. This was our way of being courageous and thinking out of the box. Without abandoning Yogyakarta’s cultural identity, we represented it through symbols such as the iconic Yogyakarta Gunungan carrying agricultural produce, Endan-endanan dancers, and a pair of Yogyakarta traditional wedding attendants,” said Jihad, team supervisor from the Directorate of Employability & Entrepreneurship of UNU Jogja.

He continued by noting that in the competition, 1st Place was awarded to Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Yogyakarta, 2nd Place to UNU Yogyakarta, and 3rd Place to Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI). This achievement is especially remarkable, considering that UNU Jogja — a private university established in 2017 — has been able to outperform numerous well-established public and private universities from across Indonesia.

Beyond the Cultural Parade, the UNU Jogja delegation also opened an expo booth showcasing their three flagship products: canned coconut water by Ngunjuk Degan Kalegan, fresh duck eggs by Fresh Duck Eggs Directly from Quality Farmers, and tourism promotions by the Thematic and Local Cultural Tourism Package team.

“Throughout the expo, visitors were highly enthusiastic about our products, to the point that the student teams had to decline requests because the stock we prepared did not match the high demand,” Jihad added.

With this achievement, UNU Jogja’s participation in KMI Expo XVI 2025 not only demonstrates the competitiveness of its students in entrepreneurship but also reinforces the university’s role in preserving local culture through youth creativity. This accomplishment is expected to inspire other students to continue innovating, taking bold steps, and raising the name of UNU Jogja at the national and international levels. [Latifah]