Yogyakarta – Proud news once again comes from students of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). The UGM delegation achieved outstanding success at the Kompetisi Aljabar Mahasiswa (KOALA) 2025, a national-level competition held for the first time by the Komunitas Peminat Aljabar (KPA).
In this inaugural competition, the UGM team demonstrated remarkable dominance by securing the majority of the highest awards, bringing home four gold medals and one silver medal.
KOALA 2025 attracted significant enthusiasm, with a total of 103 students from 24 universities across Indonesia participating in the competition. UGM sent 13 of its best delegates to compete in the preliminary stage.
The competition began with an online preliminary round held on October 1, 2025. During this stage, participants were tested through 20 short-answer questions and four essay problems under strict supervision via Zoom meeting. The relatively high level of difficulty presented a considerable challenge for participants.
From hundreds of participants, the selection process narrowed the field to 25 finalists. The qualification system was based on the top three representatives from each KPA regional division, along with participants who achieved the highest scores within the national quota through a wildcard mechanism. Thanks to their strong performance, UGM successfully advanced five representatives to the final round.
The final round was conducted offline on October 23, 2025, at Universitas Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. In this decisive stage, the five UGM finalists—Aditya Yoga Sadana, Muhammad Hanif, Muhammad Aulia Akbar, Fajar Arif Shodiqin, and Stephen Sanjaya—were required to solve four advanced-level essay problems.
Alongside the final round, the Indonesian Algebra Society Seminar was also held, serving as an academic discussion forum for scholars and students. The event was attended by additional UGM delegates as seminar participants, namely Felicia Servina Djuang, Iqbal Adisna Atmaja, and Dy Outdom.
The academic atmosphere was further enriched by the presence of keynote speakers, including Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Yeni Susanti, S.Si., M.Si., who delivered a presentation on Graph Theory.
The winners were announced during the Komunitas Peminat Aljabar gathering session held one day after the final round. This moment marked a peak of pride for the UGM contingent. Out of the five gold medals contested in the competition, four were successfully secured by UGM students.
The medal achievements of the UGM delegation are as follows:
Gold: Muhammad Hanif, Stephen Sanjaya, Fajar Arif Shodiqin, and Aditya Yoga Sadana
Silver: Muhammad Aulia Akbar
This achievement reaffirms the excellence of UGM students in the field of algebra, considering that only five gold medal quotas were available in the competition. This remarkable accomplishment is expected not only to serve as a moment of pride but also to encourage continuous learning and deeper exploration in mathematics, particularly algebra. It is hoped that this achievement will inspire other students to actively participate in competitions, continuously develop their abilities, and achieve excellence at both national and international levels.
Author: Aditya Yoga Sadana
Photo: Aditya Yoga Sadana