Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

The current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic should not hold back our intentions to earn more knowledge. Acknowledging this, the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM) holds the 7th International Week Summer Course (iWeek) 2021 which was officially opened on Monday (26/07). This event is an annual summer program with various benefits, one of which is lectures and discussions facilitated by internationally recognized competent speakers. This year, International Week will take place from 26-30 July 2021 and shift to an online program without diminishing its essence in order to guarantee access to online education for every student coming from all cities and countries.

As a medium to enrich students with international academic and non-academic experiences, this event is designed to accommodate three main academic activities, namely lectures, Executive Talk, and interactive discussions that enable cross-cultural understanding among the participants, which this year numbered 32 students. The speakers who were presented to deliver the material are notable lecturers and professionals, including Dr. Agus Joko Pramono, Ph.D as Vice Chairman of the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. Rifki Ismal as Assistant Secretary General of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), Prof. Jay Rajasekera, Ph.D from Tokyo International University, Prof. Sri Adiningsih from Universitas Gadjah Mada, and Alfa Bumhira as CEO of ProSpark.

By presenting this year's main topic which is "Digital Transformation and Sustainability in the Global Business Environment", the International Week 2021 summer course program is attempting to be able to align the needs for academic and human capacity building in preparing the world's society in taking the role for digital transformation and sustainable development at this era. Not only that, this program also contains subtopics that are relevant and support the discussions such as "Covid-19 Impact on the Digital Economy" and "Human Development in the Digital Era".

Regarding this year's iWeek topic, Eko Suwardi, M.Sc., Ph.D. as the Dean of FEB UGM explained in his welcoming speech that the participants would later gain knowledge and insights about the global business environment. "Along with interesting topics that will be covered throughout the program, participants can also understand the usage of financial technology that aids in closing the gap due to the inadequate resources of technological infrastructure," he added. This event is expected to be useful and can bring benefits by providing enlightening and enjoyable learning sessions for the participants.

Reportase: Kirana Lalita Pristy/Sony Budiarso.