Universitas Gadjah Mada dispatched some 310 students to join Student Community Service programme (KKN PPM) on Friday (22/12). They will be assigned for two months in 9 regencies spread in 7 provinces across Indonesia ( Bantul, Gunungkidul, Kudus, Raja Ampat, Konawe Selatan, Kota Batu, and Lombok Utara).
UGM Vice-Rektor for Research and Community Service, drg. Ika Dewi Ana, M.Kes., Ph.D., said the students joining the KKN PPM programme were expected to cooperate with the community. They were asked to do mappings of the problems found in the community and to give solutions to encourage economic growth and prosperity of the people. “The students are expected to give useful contributions to the community,” said Ika Dewi Ana saat when releasing the students in the courtyard of Balairung UGM.
Ika advised the students to also involve all elements of society without seeing their ethnic group, religion or social status. “You are all inseparable from the society, so you ought not to differ them according to ethnic groups, religion, and social class,” she said.
By living and working among community, according to Ika, students will get trained to be aware of real problems in the society and they will be trained to be future leaders of the country.
Secretary of Directorate of Community Service UGM, Dr. Rachmawan Budiarto, said that as many as 10 students from Vocational School and 17 faculties of UGM would join the Student Community Service to do projects according to the theme that has been determined for each unit.
“There are 12 units having already been given briefing,” he said.
Several themes of the programme are data collectiong and mapping of potential of the village, germ plasm conservation after the flooding in Tepus, Gunungkidul; community counselling after flooding in Kretek Bantul; potential development based on agriculture and food technology in Kota Batu, East Java. Next, tourism development of Pemenang in Lombok Utara; good governance enhancement in Satarmese, Manggarai, human resource development in border areas of Waisak, Raja Ampat, Papua and potential development of Konawe Selatan, Southeast Sulawesi.