UQ and UGM (Universitas Gadjah Mada) presented their group work examining the development complexities faced by local communities in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as part of the course PLAN3200/7200. Students spend two weeks working with local communities, learning from local experiences and making sense of interrelated factors influencing development.

Yesterday the six groups of students presented their final work to all the stakeholders involved in the course, including local government, local NGOs and local communities. The topics discussed included informal land tenure process in Indonesia, urban planning processes as well as the impact of climate change and draughts in rural communities. UQ and UGM students work collaborative and learn from each other, building connections for the future. The course develops several employability skills for students, such as real work experience, international experience, group work in multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse teams, and time management.

All presentations were extremely well received by communities. The final presentation session was hosted by the local kampung of Sorowajan Baru in Yogyakarta.

UQ staff Ron Johnstone and Sonia Roitman and UGM course assistants Basanda Etavita and Fadhila Latifah Sani celebrated the success of the course for a consecutive fifth year.