Multiple Wins for UMS Team in 2025 National Essay Championship

Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) once again marked a proud achievement at the national-level “Mandalika Essay Competition 6” held in Lombok. Several teams from UMS earned prestigious awards in the competition:

Education Category

Team 1 – Best Paper & Gold Medal

1. Achmad Januar Arifin (Informatics Engineering Education)
2. Hammam Rafi Abidin (Informatics Engineering Education)

Health Category

Team 2 – Bronze Medal

1. Chintya Jovita Shandi (Pharmacy)

Team 3 – Bronze Medal

1. Samiyem (Physiotherapy)
2. Nadya Maulita Putri (Physiotherapy)
3. Sri Sulistiani T. Ladjidji (Physiotherapy)
4. Dirhayuni Anggun Sisrah (Physiotherapy)

Samiyem, Chair of the Muhammadiyah Student Association (IMM) of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FIK) at UMS and leader of the Bronze-winning Team 3, shared that their team successfully developed an essay and paper rooted in innovative and original ideas.

Team 3, consisting of IMM cadres, successfully won the bronze medal.

“Each member contributed essays and papers based on concepts and ideas we developed together,” she said on Sunday (30/3/2025).

She added that most team members were first-year students from the class of 2024 and active IMM members.

“This is part of our effort to encourage young cadres to compete on a national level. We want to show that IMM is not just a platform for organizational growth but also academic achievement,” she emphasized.

This championship was attended by various renowned universities in Indonesia, including Universitas Indonesia (UI), Universitas Padjadjaran (Unpad), and Universitas Airlangga (Unair). Samiyem stated that the competition at the national level was more challenging compared to international competitions.

“In national competitions, in addition to innovation, the way ideas are presented and the process of creating the work are also key factors. This taught us a lot from our competitors,” she said.

An unforgettable experience for the IMM FIK UMS team was meeting students from other Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah Universities (PTMA).

“We felt like one big family. Even though it was our first time meeting, the connection was strong because we were all under the PTMA umbrella. We also used this opportunity to create content together and promote PTMA,” said Samiyem.

The road to this competition was quite long, starting from internal selection, submission of written work, making promotional videos, and finally being announced as finalists eligible to compete in Lombok.

“We went through a strict selection process before finally being able to perform at this national-level event,” she explained.

With this achievement, Samiyem hopes that their success can inspire other student organizations to dare to compete and show that student organizations can also be a space for students to develop their potential.

“Student organizations aren’t just about organizing, but they can also be a platform for achieving accomplishments,” she said.

Furthermore, Samiyem highlighted the importance of upholding IMM’s ideological values in every competition they participate in.

“We make sure that the written work we produce still carries the essence of IMM ideology, such as humanist intellectual transformation, which is part of our grand design,” she concluded.

Writer: Fika Annisa Sholihah
Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid