Universitas Gadjah Mada received an award as the Best Higher Education Institution in Establishing and Strengthening Disability Services Units in 2024 at the 2025 Diktisaintek Awards at Graha Diktisaintek, Jakarta, on Friday (19/12/2025). The award reaffirms UGM’s commitment to being an inclusive campus.
This achievement is inseparable from the figure of Wuri Handayani, S.E., Ak., M.Si., M.A., Ph.D., Head of the UGM Disability Services Unit (ULD), who is also a lecturer at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, UGM. She played a significant role in the development of UGM’s ULD, which was established through UGM Rector Regulation No. 19/2024 dated 20 May 2024 and inaugurated on 10 December 2024.
Wuri explained that the establishment of the ULD was mandated by Law No. 8 of 2016 concerning Persons with Disabilities. This law requires universities to provide services for students with disabilities. The push for the establishment of ULDs in universities was reinforced by Permendikbudristek No. 48 of 2023 concerning Appropriate Accommodations for Students with Disabilities in Educational Units.
Wuri mentioned the multiple challenges faced by students with disabilities. Individually, they have low self-confidence. Socially, they face acceptance issues, as well as stigma and attitudes from society that still view disabilities with contempt. Structurally, there are still many regulations that do not protect the fulfillment of educational rights for students.
“This is where ULD comes in to ensure that the challenges they face do not diminish their ability to be the best version of themselves by obtaining appropriate accommodations for their various disabilities, so that they can enjoy the learning process on an equal footing with non-disabled students,” said Wuri.
Personal Experience Strengthens Commitment
Wuri’s involvement in disability issues stems from her personal and academic experiences. Joining UGM in 2018, she found that there was no ULD at the university level. At that time, assistance for students with disabilities was still limited to student activities and did not extend to the realm of policy.
Her personal experience of facing structural discrimination, being denied employment due to her disability, and her experience studying for a master’s degree at the University of Leeds, UK, through a Chevening scholarship, became a turning point.
“In British universities, disability services are a well-established system. Upon registration, students are immediately asked what support they need to study optimally, both academically and non-academically,” she recalls.
During her master’s studies, Wuri specialised in Disability and Social Policy. She studied alongside students with physical, visual, and hearing disabilities. This experience gave her an understanding that each type of disability has different needs and can be accommodated reasonably. It was this inspiration that she brought back home and began advocating for at UGM since 2019.
Pioneering Amid Challenges
The process of establishing the ULD UGM was not without obstacles. The main challenge in the early stages was ensuring the unit’s sustainability and convincing the university that ULD was both a legal requirement and a genuine need for students. The advocacy process, drafting of SOPs, and academic paper development took place in stages from 2019, but were temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Momentum regained strength in 2023 through workshops and the drafting of the ULD academic paper, culminating in the issuance of the Decree establishing the ULD in May 2024. In December 2024, ULD UGM was officially inaugurated and occupied its office in the Bulaksumur Complex, Jalan Mahoni No. C-18, Sagan, Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta.
Real Impact
Since its establishment, ULD UGM has served around 52 students with disabilities with various conditions, ranging from physical, visual, hearing, to mental disabilities. ULD conducts individual needs assessments and provides recommendations to faculties, including training, coaching to boost confidence, and facilitation of inclusive learning.
“Students with disabilities accepted at UGM have high intellectual capacity and are relatively independent. However, for certain needs, they still require systemic support to develop optimally,” explained Wuri.
Becoming a Centre of Excellence
For Wuri, the Best ULD award at the 2025 Diktisaintek Awards is a form of national appreciation for efforts to create an inclusive campus. He also hopes that ULD UGM will be able to provide even better services for the academic community with disabilities. In addition, UGM is expected to become a more inclusive and humanistic campus in the future.
“I never expected to receive this award. This award is a recognition that efforts to be inclusive and humanistic are appreciated,” she said.
Wuri hopes that ULD UGM will develop into a centre of excellence in disability issues. This unit is expected not only to provide services for academics with disabilities but also to serve as a reference centre for research, product development, and inclusive learning systems.
“UGM is a miniature of Indonesia. If inclusivity can grow strongly from UGM, I hope that the impact can be felt more widely by society,” concluded Wuri.
Reportage by: Kurnia Ekaptiningrum
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