FBS, Karangmalang - English Literature Study Program held a Webinar titled “Penguatan Alumni, Mitra, dan Stakeholders” in the 58^th FBS UNY Dies Natalis on Monday, April 19^th, 2021 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. More than 70 participants, alumni from various enrollment years who work in many different job fields, joined the webinar. Three invited speakers in this Webinar were Dr. Widyastuti Purbani, M.A., a senior lecturer from the study program, Dian Ratri Astuti, S.S., an alumna working as a diplomat in KBRI Cairo, and Agung Purwandono, S. E., editor in chief of mojok.co.  Susana Widyastuti, Ph.D., the study program coordinator, greeted the alumni and expected that the webinar can be a means for them to share and give beneficial inputs for the study program as well as to realize the establishment of English Literature Alumni Association which in the future can give beneficial contributions to the study program.

Dr. Widyastuti Purbani, in the first session, encouraged the alumni to frequently come back to campus to share their knowledge and experiences for their junior because alumni are the ones who know the updated information related to various working fields. The next session was a presentation from Dian Ratri Astuti. With her abundant experiences in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she shared the strategies to broaden the study program’s cooperation and network through alumni. She said that alumni are the most faithful supporters who can give social, academic, and professional supports as well as participate in developing the university. The last speaker was Agung Purwandono, S. E. From his experiences of becoming editor in chief in Kedaulatan Rakyat Online and mojok.co, he gave precious input to the study program on the need to develop students’ soft skills. Besides English mastery, additional values, such as being critical and sensible, should be presented by the English Literature graduates.

After the session, the participants were enthusiastically sharing their ideas on how they would contribute to developing the institution. An alumna, Anis Apriliawati, M.Sc. who is currently working in Dirjen Dikti stated that she would be happy and feel honored to be invited to share many things about scholarships, both for students and lecturers. An initial step of establishing an alumni association was realized by selecting representatives who will be board members. Those representatives will be responsible for managing several divisions in the association, such as database, social media, networking, professional development, entrepreneurship, and community service. Hopefully, this event could strengthen the cooperation between alumni and the institution.