As to preserve the culture of jamu as the unprecedented herbal medicine from Indonesia, Faculty of Pharmacy UGM hold the 2017 Summer Course entitled “Translating Jamu, Indonesian Herbal Medicine: From Ancient Knowledge to Evidence Based Medicine” on August 7 to 22, 2017. This program benefitted the networking partnership of Faculty of Pharmacy UGM with some overseas partner universities such as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Leiden University the Netherlands. It was also supported by the Federation of Asian Pharmaceuticals Association (FAPA) in which one of its members, Prof. Dr. Suwidjiyo Pramono, appointed as a speaker in the program. Furthermore, this program invites five guest speakers who are academics, researchers, and experts in the field of herbal and traditional medicine in Asia. They are Dr Pakakrong Kwankhao from Abhabhubejhr Hospital, Thailand; Dr Huynh Le Truong from Faculty of Traditional Medicine, UMP Vietnam; Prof. Gerard Christopher Bodeker from Oxford University and currently working for Gifts of Health Ltd.; Prof. Ibrahim Jantan from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Prof. Unnikrishnan Payyappallimana from United Nation University.
This 2017 Faculty of Pharmacy UGM Summer Course offers interactive classes, laboratory works, field trips, and cultural visits. Since this program aims to promote jamu at the international level, its participants are coming from different countries. They consist of 24 international students from Egypt, Malaysia, the Netherlands, France and also 15 students of Faculty of Pharmacy UGM taking a specialty in Natural Products. They have opportunities to gain first-hand experience in jamu production, development, and manufacturing as well as optional hands-on involvement in clinical practice. The participants of this summer course are also granted a chance to visit cultural spots in Yogyakarta and learn Indonesian language and culture.
The ceremonial opening of this program is held on Monday, August 7, 2017 at Faculty of Pharmacy UGM. It is officially opened by the Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy UGM Professor Agung Endro Nugroho and the Chair of the 2017 FP UGM Summer Course Dr. Sylvia Utami Tunjung Pratiwi. A beautiful traditional dance from Bali named Tari Panyembrama is performed to welcome the participants. Afterward, the participants are given an insight of jamu and its philosophy by Professor Sudarsono, a senior lecture of Pharmaceutical Biology Department. They also experience to try jamu and some traditional food during the coffee break.