Yogyakarta, 9 September 2025 – Sekolah Vokasi Universitas Gadjah Mada (SV UGM), through its English Study Program, served as the co-host of the 4th International Conference of Research on Language (IRoLe) 2025. The international conference was held on 8–10 September 2025 at the Teaching Industry Learning Center (TILC) of SV UGM, carrying the theme “The Roles of Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals across the Archipelago.”
IRoLe is a global forum initiated by the Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Melaka, Malaysia. First convened in 2016 as a national conference, IRoLe was elevated to an international conference in 2021, followed by another successful edition in 2023. Now in its fourth edition in 2025, IRoLe has established itself as a significant platform for academics, researchers, students, and practitioners to exchange knowledge on language, culture, and communication.
The events commenced on 8 September 2025 with a pre-conference workshop featuring two speakers, Dr. Mohammad Nor Afandi Ibrahim from UiTM Melaka and Fatmawati Djafri, Ph.D. from UGM. The session was moderated by Ms. Siti Zuraina Gafar @ Abd Ghaffar and served as an opening program that provided initial insights ahead of the main conference.
In her remarks, Prof. Wening emphasized the important role of higher education institutions in strengthening multilingual and multicultural awareness as a fundamental pillar in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In line with this, Dr. Mohammad Halim highlighted that the collaboration between UiTM and UGM serves as a tangible example of academic synergy at the global level.
The main conference took place on 9-10 September 2025. Over the course of two days, participants attended plenary sessions featuring distinguished speakers from various institutions, as well as parallel sessions that provided a platform for researchers to present their studies. The event successfully attracted more than one hundred participants from diverse countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, China, Australia, Japan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. Participants came from a wide range of backgrounds, such as academics, researchers, students, and professionals in the fields of language, education, and communication.
Through the organization of IRoLe 2025, SV UGM and UiTM Melaka reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening international collaboration in language and cultural research. The outcomes of this conference are expected not only to contribute to scholarly publications and strategic recommendations but also to reinforce the role of language as a unifying bridge in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals globally.