Universitas Terbuka (UT) keeps strengthening its commitment in supporting the development of entrepreneurship in Indonesia, along with the government’s target through the Ministry of Coperation and UKM to reach 4,1% out of the total population in 2024. As a university that prioritizes public welfare, UT keeps actively launching and moving a lot of training and education programs for entrepreneurship designed to give practical skills to students in building and maintaining their businesses. UT will keep on contributing significantly in creating new innovative entrepreneurs who are ready to compete in the digital era.
Through the Food Technology Study Program of the Faculty of Science and Technology, UT held a special accompaniment activity intensively to students with micro, small, and mid-level businesses (UMKM). This program aligns with the achievement of the key performance index (IKU) 1 which focuses on generating work-ready graduates or create new jobs.
Students interested in this program vary from regions in Indonesia, such as Jakarta, Bogor, Surabaya, and Palembang who are running businesses in different sectors, especially in the food sector. The variety of products accompanied in this program are foods and drinks, for examples are juice drinks and wax gourd skins, potato chips, cassava chips, bandrek powder, nastar cookies, zintea from the zinia flower, and other products. The focus of this accompaniment involves the increase of production quality, development of interesting packaging, and the legalization of products which involve registrations for BPOM, PIRT, and halal certification. With this support, it’s hoped that students can increase their product’s quality and expand their market reach.
The method of accompaniment is done by hybrid, combining online and offline sessions which gives students live guidance from accompanying tutors, while taking advantage of the digital technology platform to expand their knowledge and competence in business. With this approach, it’s hoped that the students could increase the competitiveness of their product, expand their market reach, and capitalize in the digital era.
This UMKM accompaniment program is hoped not only to give direct benefits to students in gaining knowledge and skills required to optimally develop their businesses, but also to push the local economy. Through the strengthening of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, UT actively contributes in supporting the government vision in creating innovative entrepreneurship that’s ready to face global challenges. With the spirit of collaboration, UT is ready to support the students’ dream of being a successful entrepreneur and give benefits to the society.
