For students considering a career in Japan, the prospect of working abroad raises questions that extend beyond how to secure a placement. The vulnerabilities migrants face, the protections available to them and their relationships with employers were the focus of a public lecture hosted by the Social Welfare Studies Program at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta on Friday, October 23, 2026.

The event, titled “Vulnerability, Social Protection and Industrial Relations in Internship Programs for Indonesian Migrant Workers in Japan,” brought together 60 students and faculty members from the program. It took place from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Faculty of Dakwah and Communication’s auditorium.

The speaker, Heri Kurnianta, Ph.D., chief executive of Injapan Corporation Ltd. and secretary-general of AP2LN, brought a personal perspective to the subject: 22 years of experience as a migrant worker in Japan. Dr. Arin Mamlakah Kalamika, who teaches Industrial Social Work and Corporate Social Responsibility, moderated the discussion.

In his opening remarks, Muhammad Izzul Haq, Ph.D., head of the Social Welfare Studies Program, encouraged students and graduates to consider internship and employment opportunities in Japan. Meeting a practitioner with extensive experience in the country, he said, offered an opportunity to understand both the pathways into employment and the social and labor conditions surrounding it.

Among those attending were faculty members Noorkamilah, M.Si., and Lathiful Khuluq, Ph.D., as well as Arif Yuliyanto, program director of LAZ MKU.

For social welfare students, the lecture connected the possibilities of an international career with questions central to their discipline: how working conditions shape well-being, how workers navigate vulnerability and what forms of protection they may need.

That discussion was accompanied by a more personal account. Copies of Mendayung Impian: Memoar Seorang Buruh Migran—a title that translates as Rowing Toward a Dream: A Migrant Worker’s Memoir—were distributed during the event. The book traces Mr. Kurnianta’s journey from a village in Rongkop, Gunungkidul, through his 22 years as a migrant worker in Japan.

His story gave a human dimension to the broader discussion of migration and employment, placing an individual life alongside the institutional questions addressed in the lecture.

A question-and-answer session followed the presentation, allowing participants to discuss the lecture’s themes and opportunities for internships and employment in Japan directly with the speaker.

The event concluded with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Social Welfare Studies Program and Injapan Corporation. The agreement marked an initial step toward closer institutional cooperation and the exploration of opportunities for students and graduates.

An exchange of commemorative gifts and a group photograph brought the morning to a close. For the program, the gathering linked classroom study with firsthand experience of migrant working life—and opened a conversation about what pursuing a future abroad might involve.