Preparations for the Jogja Innovation Festival (JNOF) 2026 moved a step closer to completion in a coordination meeting held at Universitas Gadjah Mada’s Business Development Office (PU UGM) on 15 September 2026, bringing together representatives from PU UGM and KADIN Yogyakarta Special Region (KADIN DIY) to finalize technical details of the festival’s business matchmaking sessions and strengthen collaboration on industry-linked research ahead of the event on 21-22 October at GIK UGM.
Organizers agreed to expand table capacity for the business matchmaking sessions to 30 tables per sector, bringing the total to 90 tables across all sectors. The Socio-Humanities sector will be given its own dedicated agenda and session, reflecting its distinct set of partners and discussion needs. Participants also agreed on the need to draft a bridging fund document to help connect inventors with potential investors during the sessions.
Beyond the festival itself, the meeting outlined a closer working relationship between KADIN DIY and UGM’s research community. KADIN will be able to feed real, on-the-ground industry challenges directly to inventors and researchers, and a dedicated session this December is planned to collect these industry problems through the JNOF platform. The resulting list of challenges is expected to feed into new research initiatives under PU UGM’s programs.
Several follow-up steps were agreed to keep preparations on schedule. PU UGM will prepare a draft MoU between KADIN DIY and UGM ahead of a follow-up meeting on 22 September 2026 at 1:30 PM. A budget proposal for the event has already been submitted. Two pre-event sessions are scheduled for 25 September and 1 October 2026, with their concepts to be finalized soon, to be followed by invitation letters to industry partners. The MoU itself is planned for signing on 22 October 2026 — coinciding with the second day of JNOF 2026.
The meeting was attended by Hermawan Ardiyanto, Almudi Khurniawan, Aryo, Malik, Ilham Unggara, Prof. Wiratni, Wahyu, and Arief, representing PU UGM and KADIN DIY.
With business matchmaking logistics settled and a clearer bridge between industry needs and university research now taking shape, organizers say preparations remain on track heading into JNOF 2026’s final weeks — reinforcing the festival’s mission of turning research and innovation into real economic growth, in line with its theme, “Innovation to Growth.”