On July 10-19, 2024, the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Diponegoro conducted a Summer Course called PSYCHE or Psychology International Summer Community Engagement and Visit to Cultural Heritage, with the topic “Igniting the Spirit of Inclusivity to Foster Youth Empowerment”. This annual activity is conducted with the aim of increasing interaction and collaboration between the Faculty of Psychology and international students through various activities such as cultural introduction, interaction with the community, as well as workshop and seminar sessions from speakers from various backgrounds.
In its sixth year, PSYCHE Summer Course 2024 invited more than 10 speakers from local and international backgrounds to invite 54 participants from Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, China, New Zealand, and India to understand more deeply how inclusivity can be understood and applied in daily life. Since the first day of the event, the participants have had a seminar session with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wiwandari Handayani from the Faculty of Engineering with the theme “Empowering Youth for Sustainable Development: A Focus on Climate Action”. The next day, participants met directly with a disabled community in Semarang called Roemah Difabel to learn how to communicate empathetically with people with disabilities. The participants had a session with Agus Mutohar, M.A., Ph.D from UIN Walisongo on the challenges of implementing inclusivity in college, not only for a daily life.
Participants were invited to live the daily lives of villagers in Desa Wisata Lerep for three days.
They had the opportunity to stay in people’s homes, enjoy typical food, and learn a variety of traditional arts typical of Central Java. In addition, they also listened to the link between inclusivity and cultural neuroscience with Prof. Irawan Satriotomo from the University of Florida, USA. After the activities at Desa Wisata Lerep, participants returned to the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Diponegoro, to interact with other speakers on different topics. On the seventh day, participants attended a speaker session on research publications by Dr. Michelle Lee (Massey University, New Zealand) and Dr. Mirko Duradoni (University of Florence, Italy). The session was followed by a workshop on yoga presented by Dr. Priyadarshini Moharkonda Srinivasan, who discussed the relationship between Ayurveda and mental health in psychology, as well as yoga for mental health presented by Dr. Nana Trianasari from Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha. Moreover, participants also received sessions on work and industry presented by Prof. Rozian binti Mohd Rasdi from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia, and Riana Sitawati, Ph.D from STIE Daharma Putra.
On the last day, the closing ceremony began with the performance of Bambangan Cakil Dance followed by a speech from the Head of the Committee, Mrs. Fika Nadia Tirta Maharani, S.Psi., M.Psi., Psychologist, a speech from the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, Prof. Dian Ratna Sawitri, S.Psi, M.Si., Ph.D. and followed by the speech from Vice Rector 4, Wijayanto, S.IP., M.Si., Ph.D. The event continued with the release of co-cards and the presentation of certificates to Irish Claire from Lyceum of The Philippines University and Muhammad Idham bin Mohd Noor from University Malaya. The activity was continued by dinner as well as the announcement of winners for the Best Art Performance and Best Creative Video categories, as well as individual categories, namely Most Active Participant and Most Popular Participant, video impressions and messages viewing from buddies and participants, and closed with singing and a flash mob performances by participants, the committee, and lecturers of the Faculty of Psychology Undip.
The PSYCHE Summer Course activity is not only a place to connect between local and international students but also opens the insights of the participants, including all components involved in it, about the importance of increasing the spirit of inclusiveness through increasing knowledge and experience as a whole towards an inclusive community and system.