UNS — The Student Executive Board (BEM) of the Faculty of Agriculture (FP) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta held an online class COMDES 2021 through the Zoom Cloud Meeting application. The class was joined by 139 participants from UNS students and the general public. The theme of this class was the Importance of Community Services for Students.
Acting as the speaker in the class was Wahyu Budi Utomo, Berjo Village Secretary, Karanganyar District, who has served from 2017 until today. He stated that if university students want to conduct a community service program, they need to collaborate and commit to the village’s sustainable development program.
“(We) could ensure for university students who want to conduct community service program to collaborate with the government,” he explained.
The student’s role in collaborating with the community is managing the natural resources, developing the tourism and service sector, developing agriculture, industry, and community craft. Students also could create local businesses and trades.
Wahyu explained that currently, all villages are required to have Village Owned Business (Bumdes) to support village institutions. Students also could propose a community service program that collaborates with Holistic Village Development and Empowerment Program (PHP2D), Student Community Service Program (KKN), community services, and Student Creativity Program (PKM).
Based on Wahyu’s experience in collaborating with student’s community service by establishing an institution in the village, the programs usually include training for taruna tani, distributing staple food packages for farmers, and establishing an agricultural studio. These activities could open job opportunities for farmers and support community capital.
After the material delivery, the event was followed with a questions-and-answers session and discussion. The event was concluded with handing a certificate for the speaker and closing the webinar held on Saturday (10/7/2021). Humas UNS
Reporter: Zalfaa Azalia Pursita
Editor: Dwi Hastuti