Semarang, June 25th 2026 — The Tourism Master Program at the Universitas Gadjah Mada Graduate School held an Intensive Thesis Supervision Retreat on June 24th – 25th 2026, at Griya Persada Convention Hotel & Resort in Bandungan, Semarang Regency. The activity was part of the collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency and the UGM Graduate School in organizing the Tourism Master Program for civil servants.
The retreat was designed to improve academic quality and accelerate the completion of students’ theses. It brought students and thesis supervisors together in an intensive academic setting with research progress presentations, discussions, manuscript evaluations, and the preparation of follow-up plans.
Students, during the presentation sessions, reported on the development of their research, including the formulation of research problems, research objectives, methodology, and preliminary analysis. The supervisors then provided feedback to sharpen the research focus, strengthen the theoretical foundation, improve the methodology, and ensure that the discussion remained aligned with the research objectives.
The discussions were active and open. Students, in addition to receiving guidance on the substance of their theses, were given the opportunity to identify challenges encountered during the research process. Each student was encouraged to formulate a clear revision plan and establish measurable targets for completing the thesis.
The activity also served as a forum for strengthening academic interaction of students and lecturers. The direct supervision made lecturers able to monitor students’ progress more comprehensively, while students received more focused feedback on their thesis manuscripts and plans for academic publication.
The program included thesis progress presentations, academic discussions, intensive supervision sessions, independent student work, and study monitoring and evaluation. On the second day, students presented their revised work and outlined their respective plans for completing their theses.
The Tourism Master Program, with this retreat, aimed to improve the quality of thesis drafts, refine research questions and methodologies, strengthen the results and discussion sections, and develop clear follow-up plans for thesis completion and publication. The activity was also expected to support timely graduation without compromising the academic quality of graduates.
The organization of the retreat reaffirmed the UGM Graduate School’s commitment to develop a sustainable system of academic supervision. Intensive mentoring is expected to accelerate study completion and also to enhance students’ ability to produce rigorous, relevant, and impactful research for the advancement of the tourism sector.
Author : Khoirul Mujazanah