The seminar and symbolic handover of MBKM Kedaireka as part of the MBKM Kedaireka Program series was held on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. The symbolic handover activity took place in the Command Centre Room of the Jepara Regional Secretariat, Jepara Regency. This activity was attended by the Acting Regent with several local institutions’ representatives, and also was attended by three lecturers from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning; Prof. Dr. -Ing. Wiwandari Handayani, ST, MT, MPS, Rukuh Setiadi, ST, MEM. Ph. D, and Dr. Ir. Rina Kurniati, MT, along with 10 students from batch 2020 who participated in the MBKM Kedaireka Program which were divided into two teams.
MBKM Kedaireka program aims to strengthen the partnerships between universities and industry through the Kedaireka Platform (Kerja Sama Dunia Usaha dan Kreasi Reka Kampus Merdeka – Business and Creation Cooperation for Kampus Merdeka). This platform is provided, managed and developed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia to build an innovation ecosystem based on Merdeka Belajar (freedom to learn) – Kampus Merdeka.
As part of Diponegoro University SDGs Center Kedaireka Activities (https://sustainability.undip.ac.id/2022/09/29/undip-do-initiasi-pembuatan-taman-mini-sdgs-di-indonesia-melalui-program-kedaireka -2022/), the DURP – UNDIP was involved in providing knowledge and experience to increase the professionalism of its graduate planners through a student internship scheme, as a practical work course at the Urban and Regional Planning Undergraduate Program. The MBKM Kedaireka internship becomes an opportunity for students to gain work experience in the field of planning. The MBKM Kedaireka internship activity is also an effort to reach the SDGs, including at least SDG 4 (Quality Education), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 13 (Climate Action), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
In carrying out the MBKM Kedaireka internship, the 10 participating students were divided into two teams, where each team consisting of five members to working on two selected themes – “Optimization of the Teluk Awur Tourism Agglomeration Area” and “Analysis of Abrasion and Sea Level Rise Handling on the West Coast of Jepara Regency”. There are various activities as part of the internship, starting from kick-off meetings, initial identification and literature reviews, survey, data collection, discussion with the local stakeholders, and completing the final report. This seminar and the symbolic handover activity are the closing stages of the MBKM Kedaireka Program. The symbolic handover of the reports was carried out to the representative of the Local Government.
Through their participation in this activity, students gain experience in solving real problems in the practical field and establish intensive communication with several parties such as the government and the community. It is hoped that the study conducted by these students can be utilized by the Jepara Regency Government and followed up with further research.