Bogor – Facing global competition and the challenges of the industrial revolution 4.0, it is necessary to encourage link and match between vocational education and the industrial world. This can be realized through the preparation of curriculum and research with industry, commitment to absorb graduates and strengthening teaching and learning facilities.
As a commitment to support the government’s efforts to develop vocational education, Astra and Sinar Mas partnered with Diponegoro University to build the Undip Vocational School Building.
The UNDIP Vocational School Building which is a grant from Astra and Sinar Mas was inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo on Wednesday (26/8/2020). The event was held online from the Bogor Palace. In his remarks, President Joko Widodo said that in 2030 Indonesia will receive a demographic bonus. “For that we must prepare a workforce that is ready to work and reliable according to market needs,” he said. “The role of industry is very much needed, not only helping building facilities, but also preparing internship programs for vocational school students,”.
“Astra also supports vocational education programs at the high school and college level. To date, the Astra Group has fostered 2,813 vocational schools in the form of link and match development between vocational schools and industry, field work practices, curriculum development and educational infrastructure. Astra, through the Astra Manufacturing Polytechnic adopted the German Dual System vocational education system, has graduated 3,470 Associate Engineers who contribute to industrial development in Indonesia. Astra’s support is in line with Astra’s aspiration to prosper with the nation,” said Astra President Director Djony Bunarto Tjondro.
“The need for human resources with a vocational education background is actually high. However, the quantity of the vocational workforce is indeed limited, and there are even fewer of those who have the skills according to industry needs. Partnerships like this can be a solution to bridge our needs,” said Managing Director of Sinar Mas, G. Sulistiyanto during the virtual inauguration. He assessed that the existence of this campus is a symbol of the commitment of the academic community in responding to the challenges of the times, in an environment that is environmentally and energy friendly, as well as humanist.
The Vocational School Building began construction on March 12, 2019, standing on an area of 4,900 square meters. Designed to meet the needs of various rooms in the teaching and learning process of vocational education, including lecture rooms with 4.0 technology such as digital classrooms, video conferences, MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) lecture material production studios, digital library and archive rooms, and laboratories.
There is also a room for the Professional Certification Institute (LSP) and the Vocational Development Center (VDC). These two LSP and VDC units prepare Undip Vocational School graduates to be truly work-ready. Among the spaces that are also very useful is the entrepreneurship lounge in collaboration with Undip with GK Plug and Play as one of the accelerators that has gone global, thus adding more value to the birth of new young entrepreneurs.
The Vocational School Building consists of 4 floors, certified international green building from the Green Building Council. As a green building, this building is equipped with solar panels on the roof that can supply 25 KVA of power for building electricity supply. The existence of this solar panel can also be used as a teaching industry in the field of renewable energy. The building is also equipped with a water recycle system, environmentally friendly building materials, biopori for rainwater infiltration, as well as a design with adequate lighting and ventilation so that it saves energy.
Undip Vocational School has a vision to become a superior vocational education center of international standard, carrying the tagline “It’s time for Vocational Champion”. There are 11 Applied S1 study programs which are incorporated into 4 departments, namely the Department of Industrial Technology, the Department of Civil and Planning, the Department of Information and Culture, and the Department of Business and Finance. With the number of students reaching 7,000 people who will take advantage of the various facilities in this new building. The Building Grant from Astra and Sinar Mas is a tangible manifestation of the strong link and match between campus and industry in order to face global competition and the presence of the industrial revolution 4.0.