PIKA UGM held online UGM Talks for an encore on Tuesday (7/14) afternoon. These talks were broadcast live on UGM Channel Youtube channel. The theme raised at the 16th is "Building a Multi-Party Synergy for the Implementation of Merdeka Belajar-Kampus Merdeka".
The reason for the chosen theme is because of addressing the new policy issued by the Minister of Education and Culture. They are Merdeka Belajar-Merdeka Campus. The policy provides opportunities for students to study off-campus for a semester or more. However, it is still under the guidance of lecturers so that it still counted as SKS.
To make this policy success, it needs synergy from multi-parties such as the government, both central and regional, BUMN, private sector, community, and others. One of them is in community service.
Dr. Ir. Ambar Kusumandari, M.E.S, Head of Sub-Directorate of UGM Student Community Service Program's, said that UGM, through its program has held such activities. UGM's KKN-PPM program meets the principles of learning outside the classroom, also including lecture credits. However, the period is only for two months.
According to Ambar, UGM is now preparing another program to adjust to the Merdeka Belajar policy. The plan is that the program is still a continuity of Student Community Service Program. Students can later go back to their program to carry out advanced applications. This application can be in the form of equivalent research, business assistance, food suspension assistance, continuing the unfinished Community Service Program, apprenticeship, to teaching English or IT to the people there.
"We are currently finalizing this program, roadmap, targets, and outcomes. Hopefully, this community service program is relevant to the needs and targets of the community who need support and assistance," Ambar said.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Development of Social and Cultural Transmigrant of the Indonesian Ministry of Villages and Transmigration, Dra. Dewi Yuliani said that so far it had been helped by the participants of Community Service Program. That is because the presence of KKN students helps in mapping the problems experienced in an area. With that, he said it would be easier to arrange programs for the area.
Furthermore, Dewi said that she was preparing a project in the village related to the Merdeka Belajar. This application will be in the form of a collaboration program between ministries, state-owned enterprises, the private sector, as well as regional governments as supporters and universities as the implementers.
"This project will focus on several things, such as building superior rural human resources, building rural economic transformation, and creating a healthy and smart generation of rural areas. Therefore, there should be synergy from various parties," Dewi concluded.
Author: Hakam