SEMARANG – Higher education activities are expected to benefit society, including small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). To face this challenge, Undip lecturers took the initiative to establish partnerships and provide assistance to MSMEs. This assistance aims to increase the productivity and quality of products and services produced by MSME players.
“It is also how MSMEs can reduce production costs to strengthen competitiveness,” explained Undip Lecturer Sri Utami Handayani ST MT.
Sri Utami Handayani ST MT has recently established partnerships and provided serious assistance to the Tofu Bakso and Lumpia Baginda Raja MSMEs and the Bang Ali Rebung MSMEs. Sri Utami Handayani ST MT, a lecturer from the Mechanical Design Engineering (RPM) Study Program of the Vocational School, invites lecturers from other study programs to establish partnerships with MSME players. Lecturers from different study programs who participated in this activity were Anggun Puspitarini Siswanto, PhD, from the Industrial Chemical Engineering Technology Study Program (TRKI). Apart from lecturers, there were also students from the Mechanical Design Engineering (RPM) Study Program of the Vocational School who participated in this community service team, including Verma Ardian, Fikri Adi Saputro, Sundhari Maharani, Bagus Dwi Prasetyo.
This activity begins by equalizing the understanding of the equipment design that will be made to support MSMEs in increasing their production. Then, it was continued with the application of appropriate technology that RPM Study Program students had designed in the form of a material chopper machine and an automatic bamboo shoot cooker. Furthermore, training was held on the operation of these tools for MSMEs. The program was then evaluated to ensure its implementation and sustainability.
The solutions offered are expected to provide significant benefits to MSMEs. For example, the high-functional automatic bamboo shoot cooker and the automatic chopper allow businesses to chop bamboo shoots more quickly and accurately. Thus, MSMEs can experience increased time and labor efficiency, reduced material waste, and decreased risk of injury for workers. Overall, this activity has a positive impact on improving product quality and reducing MSME operational costs.