UNS – Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta in collaboration with Bank Indonesia held a Craft Category Product Expo for UNS Students and Alumni. The expo was held for 3 days from Friday (26/5/2023) to Sunday (28/5/2023) at the Lumbung Batik, Laweyan District, Surakarta City. The expo was also open to the public from 11.00 – 22.00 WIB.
The expo activity was inaugurated directly by the Vice Rector for Research and Innovation UNS, Prof. Dr. Kuncoro Diharjo, S.T., M.T. Prof. Kuncoro said that through this expo’s performance it aimed to strengthen the economy, especially in the MSME sector.
“Our hope is that this expo can be an initial turning point to revive the economy in Indonesia. Encouraging MSMEs to reach international market share,” Prof. Kuncoro said in his speech.
Furthermore, Prof. Kuncoro added, to realize this, a joint synergy between academics and MSMEs is needed. Because of this collaboration, creative product innovations can be created.
“In the concept of product development and quality improvement there needs to be collaboration. There needs to be a synergy that we have to build together, so that the value created by MSME products is able to contribute and provide broad benefits to the Indonesian economy,” Prof. Kuncoro said.
Prof. Kuncoro continued that through this expo, it is hoped that it can also become a forum for students and alumni of UNS and UMKM Solo Raya to be able to market their products internationally.
Then the following remarks were delivered by the Director of Academic and Student Reputation UNS, Dr. Sutanto, S.Si., DEA. Dr. Sutanto also hopes that this expo activity can bring our MSME products to foreign countries.
“As for the choice of location for the expo at Lumbung Batik, we want to get closer to the community directly. The hope is that people from both Solo and outside Solo can also show their appreciation for this expo,” Dr. Sutanto said.
Next, the welcome speech was delivered by the Deputy Head of Bank Indonesia Solo. He said, with the increasing number of MSMEs that can export, it can simultaneously encourage Indonesia’s economic growth.
“We hope that by organizing the expo, MSME products that had been curated can be appreciated even more. We hope that these UMKM products can continue to develop in quality, especially in accordance with the European market. Hopefully this expo event runs smoothly, and at least in June we can send at least one container of MSME products to France,” he concluded.
Humas UNS/Lina Khoirun Nisa