UNS — Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta students answered community challenges for an agent of change from the young generation. Abyan Ajrurrafi Syauqi from Communication Science Program 2017, Aberrant Pratama Yoga Nur Permana from International Relations Program 2017, Ilman Abdurahman from Communication Science Program 2019, and Tieko Januar Cahyadi from International Relations Program 2017 won several international competitions through their Masjiduna and Acacia application.
To the uns.ac.id team, Abyan explained that the Masjiduna application was designed to accommodate the needs of the Muslim community abroad and in the country by promoting the two ways approach between mosque and the community. The community is expected to be facilitated in accessing the information, knowledge, and essential functions of a mosque holistically from the social, economy, and education. The application allows people to find mosques in their environment and to find the nearest mosque during their travel.
“While Masjiduna for Marbot allows mosque managers (marbot) to access various features in managing mosque and conducting progressive activities in maximizing the services from the mosque for its congregations,” Abyan stated.
He added that Masjiduna is also designed to assist the Muslim community in developing a more productive, knowledgeable, and help each other through the available features. At the macro level, Masjiduna also facilitates the formation of the halal industry in Indonesia and globally through mosque digitalization in supporting Muslim progressiveness through coordination and better interaction. With synergy between the App for Marbot and App for Jamaah, the creators hoped for a positive impact from the process to a better direction for the Muslim community and its positive impact on the heterogeneous environment.
Acacia is a system designed and developed as a waste management system at the community level that meets the sustainable socio-economic and environmental principles. This app functioned as a system that aims to reduce the number of unprocessed wastes in Indonesia, especially household wastes, through the reuse, reduce, recycle mechanism. Abyan explained that their system is different from other similar systems because it promotes social aspects besides the environmental aspects. Through Acacia, the team pursues the creation of a new trend in managing household wastes through ‘turning wastes into goodness’ that allow people to manage their wastes while donating the results of wastes management.
Abyan also shared that he and his team are interested in application development because they are aware of the offered opportunity that could create goodness for society through technology. During their development progress, the team also conducted a feasibility test by participating in an international conference because they hoped for international-level impact. The competition also serves as a bridge for the team in evaluating and completing their development process in achieving maximum results.
“Alhamdulillah, we received several awards from some competition. Masjiduna received Gold Medal International Avicenna Youth Science Fair (IAYSF) 2021 in Iran last October and Silver Medal International Invention and Innovation Competition (I3C) 2021 in Malaysia last November. While for Acacia, we received the Bronze Medal World International Competition and Exhibition (WICE) 2021 in Malaysia last September and the Bronze Medal International Science and Invention Fair (ISIF) 2021 last October,” Abyan explained.
In developing both applications, Abyan and friends experienced challenges that were demanded to find a solution for the issues and translate it into application features. The hardest was when they needed to perfect the concept to be implemented in their application. Therefore, during the development process, they focused on the impact, problem-solving, validity, and relevance of the ideas. “Whether it is really relevant in the community and whether it creates full benefits or only little benefits,” he added.
Their app development has prepared for the future prospects, future income and is looking for investors. The team also continuously develops and perfects their initial concept through research on users’ needs. Abyan stated that they plan to launch their concept as a startup in the near future.
“Insyaallah, in the near future, we will realize the concept into a new startup that aims to bring a great impact for the users, and we want to invite our stakeholders to participate in realizing this project,” Abyan explained.
Abyan concluded the interview with his inspiration ‘Do not let our youth pass without impressive works.’ “Don’t try to impress people but try to impact, because the impression will be lost and impact will survive.” Humas UNS
Reporter: Zalfaa Azalia Pursita
Editor: Dwi Hastuti