Comsocia 2026 Brings Together Academics from Five Countries, Strengthens International Research Collaboration

The Communication Program of Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) continues its commitment to campus internationalization through the organization of The International Conference on Communication, Society, and Digital Media (Comsocia) 2026. Held in a hybrid format at Hotel Mercure Surakarta on Thursday (9/7/2026), Comsocia brought together academics, researchers, practitioners, and students from various countries to discuss strategic issues in communication, society, and digital media transformation.

The organization of Comsocia 2026 marks one of UMS's tangible steps in strengthening its global academic network. A total of 74 papers were presented across various panel sessions held both onsite and online. The conference was also attended by around 120 participants from various higher education institutions in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, and France.

The Chair of the Comsocia 2026 Committee, Dr. Andika Sanjaya, expressed his appreciation to all authors who entrusted their scholarly work to the conference. According to him, the quality of the manuscripts received this year reflects the growing innovation and relevance of communication research in addressing global challenges.

"The papers presented demonstrate very high quality and offer innovative ideas in tackling various communication issues in the digital era. We hope this conference becomes a space for collaboration that can give rise to joint research and strengthen international academic networks," Andika said on Saturday (11/7/2026).

The academic forum provided space for discussion and opened opportunities for cross-country research collaboration. The presence of participants from various parts of the world reflects the growing academic network that the UMS Communication Studies Program has successfully built.

"Through Comsocia 2026, the UMS Communication Studies Program once again affirms its role as an institution that is actively building international academic collaboration while encouraging the emergence of quality research that contributes to the development of communication studies," Andika added.

Comsocia 2026 featured five internationally reputable speakers: Dr. Muhammad Sulhan from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Dr. Dian Purworini from Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, Prof. Gedala Mulliah Naidoo from the University of Zululand, South Africa, Prof. Syahruddin Awang Ahmad from Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia, and Leila Moudjadi, Ph.D., from Toulouse University, France.

The various perspectives shared by the speakers enriched discussions on digital communication, media, strategic communication, information governance, and the challenges of global communication amid the advancement of technology and artificial intelligence.

Beyond serving as a venue for disseminating research findings, Comsocia 2026 also offered publication opportunities for authors in various reputable journals. Manuscripts that pass the selection process will be recommended for publication in Scopus Q1-indexed reputable international journals, nationally accredited Sinta 2, Sinta 3, Sinta 4, and Sinta 5 journals, as well as international journals published by LSP Malaysia.

Prof. Gedala Mulliah Naidoo, Deputy Dean: Research, Innovation and Community Engagement at the University of Zululand, South Africa, expressed his appreciation for Comsocia 2026. He said his presence at UMS was part of the strengthening of cooperation and academic partnership that has been established between the University of Zululand and UMS.

"I am confident that Comsocia will continue to grow into an outstanding international conference. With the various improvements and innovations made each year, this conference has great potential to become one of the leading conferences in the field of communication studies," Gedala said.

Writer: Maysali Sudarwati

Editor: Gede Arga Adrian

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid