At the Jogja Financial Festival 2026, UGM Rector Urges Students to Become Innovators
UGM Rector Ova Emilia welcomed the Jogja Financial Festival (JFF) 2026, held in Jogja from today, positively. She highlighted the high risks faced by students amid easy access to digital financial services.
In her remarks, Ova noted that developments in financial technology indeed bring many conveniences, but can also become vulnerabilities if not balanced with adequate financial literacy.
The development of digital technology impacts ease of access, but that ease must be balanced by awareness of risk, so understanding these risks is essential to prevent it from becoming vulnerability, Ova said during her opening remarks at JFF at Jogja Expo Center (JEC), Bantul, on Friday (22 May 2026).
She revealed that on campus there are still students caught in various problems due to low financial literacy in the digital era.
What happens at universities, there are many instances of students, young people, being trapped in various situations that make things difficult due to that ease, she said.
According to Ova, financial literacy today is no longer merely about understanding savings, investments, credit, or insurance. Students also need to understand the risks behind fintech services and digital assets that are increasingly accessible.
Financial literacy is not just the ability to understand savings, investments, credit, insurance, fintech, or digital assets. The development of digital technology indeed provides ease of access, but it also presents risks, so understanding these risks is essential to prevent it from becoming vulnerability.
On the other hand, she noted that Jogja is developing into a hub of the creative and digital economy, with universities as key drivers.
Therefore, students are expected not only to be users of financial products but also to become innovators and entrepreneurs.
“We certainly hope that students and learners will not only be users of financial products but also become innovators, entrepreneurs, productive investors and value creators for society,” she said.
Ova added that strengthening financial literacy is important because the demographic bonus will only become a strength if young people have the ability to make wise decisions.
“The demographic bonus will only be a strength if young people have knowledge, character and the ability to make decisions,” she concluded.
The Financial Festival, initiated by Transmedia in collaboration with LPS, has previously been successfully held in Surabaya and Medan and attended by more than 10,000 people.
The Jogja Financial Festival features Business Talk and Educational Class sessions.
In the Business Talk session, attendees will include high-level government officials.
From the parliamentary side: Chairman of Commission XI of the DPR, Mukhamad Misbakhun; Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of LPS, Anggito Abimanyu; and Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of OJK, Friderica Widyasari Dewi.
From the host side: the Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, and Yogyakarta Mayor Hasto Wardoyo will attend.
Top businessman and founder and chairman of CT Corp, Chairul Tanjung, will also attend to share his experiences building a business to its current scale.