Given the wide-ranging applications of biology across various fields, the Biology Program at the Faculty of Science and Technology, UIN Sunan Kalijaga, shoulders significant responsibility. Its mission extends beyond imparting fundamental biological knowledge to students; it also aims to equip them with the technical skills necessary for applying this foundational knowledge across diverse domains. In addition to enhancing technical skills for biological applications, students should be encouraged to internalize course content, ensuring they can effectively translate their research ideas into systematic and well-directed studies. Based on program evaluations, students’ abilities in writing and comprehending literature remain insufficient, which ultimately impacts the duration of their thesis work and, consequently, their graduation timeline.

With this foundational framework in mind, the Biology Program recognizes the need for training that enhances biology-based competencies across various fields. Additionally, there is a requirement for training that assists students in translating their research concepts into well-structured plans and systematic research execution.

The “Traditional Herbal Medicine Workshop” aims to provide students with the knowledge to appreciate local wisdom and ancestral cultural heritage in the form of traditional herbal medicine (known as “jamu”). The workshop covers topics such as processing medicinal plants into traditional herbal remedies, cultivating plants used in jamu, understanding jamu formulations, and analyzing the business aspects of traditional herbal medicine. The workshop was conducted in person at the Agradaya Sleman traditional herbal medicine production site and was attended by active Biology students from the 2020 cohort, along with biology faculty members. The material presented during the workshop is highly beneficial for developing biology graduates’ profiles as bioentrepreneurs.