Naila Alfi Najwa Alfaiza (20), a student from the Indonesian Language and Literature Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), class of 2022, recently completed the 7th Batch of the Kampus Mengajar Program in 2024. Alfaiza was one of the nine UGM students who successfully participated in the program.
For Alfaiza, the Kampus Mengajar Program was a golden opportunity to learn while making a tangible impact on education in remote areas. During the program, Alfaiza was placed at SD Negeri Ngadirejo 5, Kediri City, East Java.
There, she and her team began by observing various aspects of the school, including the classroom environment, school infrastructure, and organizational structure.
“I also had to learn how to deliver material to elementary school students effectively,” Alfaiza said in an interview at the UGM Campus on Tuesday (Aug. 27).
It was not easy for Alfaiza to adapt quickly to a new environment far from campus and to face various technical challenges on-site. However, she considered every challenge a valuable lesson. She and her team even initiated a literacy festival to boost students’ reading interest.
“Our biggest achievement was the literacy and numeracy festival, which gave us many opportunities to develop and showcase our potential,” she stated.
Alfaiza acknowledged that participating in the Kampus Mengajar Program enhanced her soft skills, including practical skills, communication, adaptability, self-development, and leadership.
“For me, this program is a great opportunity for students to improve their abilities and expand their professional networks,” she added.
As an alumnus of Kampus Mengajar, Alfaiza hopes that her presence at SD Negeri Ngadirejo 5 will have a lasting positive impact on students and teachers. She believes the spirit of change she and her team brought will inspire the school to continue innovating in teaching and learning.
“I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to make an impact and create innovations in education through this Kampus Mengajar program,” she said.
Dr. Ngadisih, the coordinator of the Kampus Mengajar Program at UGM, stated that UGM actively supports this MBKM program, which provides a platform for students to apply their skills and knowledge in primary and secondary education settings.
The number of applicants for this program at UGM increases each year. For the 8th batch in 2024, 54 UGM students applied, but only three were selected, which poses a challenge for the organizers.
“Currently, three students are actively participating in the program,” she said.
Dr. Ngadisih explained that UGM plays a role in two types of Kampus Mengajar programs: those run by Dikti (flagship) and those independently managed by the university’s study programs. The Kampus Mengajar Program is designed to allow students to learn outside their study programs by becoming teaching partners.
“They can develop creative, innovative, and engaging teaching strategies in primary and secondary education,” she explained.
One positive outcome of this program is the increased motivation among students taught by UGM participants, which encourages them to study harder.
“Through this program, there has also been an improvement in teachers’ capacity to develop teaching methods,” she noted.
However, the Kampus Mengajar Program at UGM also faces challenges. Dr. Ngadisih mentioned that the main challenge for students and organizers is converting the study programs into credit units (SKS).
To address this, UGM collaborates with Dikti to provide technical guidance on SKS recognition for the study programs.
In developing the Kampus Mengajar Program at UGM, Dr. Ngadisih revealed that UGM has a strategy to promote the MBKM program, including Kampus Mengajar, by integrating it with the KKN PPM UGM activities.
Dr. Ngadisih also expressed her hope that UGM students who have participated in Kampus Mengajar will continue to inspire more students to participate.
She also hopes that students who have yet to be involved will be encouraged to take the initiative and be brave enough to explore their potential through this program.
Author: Lintang
Editor: Gusti Grehenson