UPN Veteran Yogyakarta Deputy Mayor Shares Success Tips with 6,031 New Students
Wawan Hermawan, Deputy Mayor of Yogyakarta, visited his alma mater UPN Veteran Yogyakarta on Monday (August 11, 2025) to address 6,031 new students during the opening of Campus Life Introduction for New Students (PKKBN) 2025. The alumnus of the Defense Campus shared success strategies with the incoming generation beginning their academic journey.
Key Details
During the event at UPN Veteran Yogyakarta, Hermawan emphasized the importance of planning and utilizing campus opportunities for personal development. The man known as “Father of SMEs Yogyakarta” encouraged students to take advantage of student organizations, business communities, and arts platforms provided by the university.
Hermawan, an alumnus of the Management Department, reflected on his time as a student in 1984 when the university still operated under a tier system requiring students to complete each level before advancing. At that time, UPN Veteran Yogyakarta had not yet adopted the current Defense Campus concept.
The PKKBN 2025 program is scheduled from August 11-17, 2025, opening with a Senate Open Session featuring prominent speakers including Defense Ministry Special Staff for Public Communication Deddy Corbuzier and Defense Director Brigadier General G. Eko Sunarto.
Quotes & Reactions
“UPN Veteran Yogyakarta has provided the widest opportunities, but the results depend on student seriousness. Everything must be planned, because no one succeeds instantly,” said the Deputy Mayor of Yogyakarta.
Drawing from his career journey, Hermawan stressed discipline and early planning during college years. “Success cannot be instant, it must be planned from the first semester. If athletes must train every day, students are the same. If you work carelessly, the results will also be careless,” stated the former Deputy Chairman of Yogyakarta Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“At that time there was no Defense concept like now, and I see this Defense concept makes students more critical, something we should appreciate,” he said regarding the university’s evolution.
Background & Context
Hermawan compared the student success process to athletic training, emphasizing that students must develop a champion mentality and resilience when facing failure. He noted that like athletes who train daily, students must maintain consistent effort and planning throughout their academic careers.
The university has transformed significantly since Hermawan’s student days, implementing the Defense Campus concept that encourages critical thinking among students. This approach represents a major shift from the traditional tier-based system of the 1980s.
The UPN Veteran Yogyakarta orientation program serves as an introduction to campus life for thousands of new students beginning their higher education journey at this prominent Indonesian university.
