Representatives of postgraduate students from the Master of Communication Science study program at Diponegoro University (Undip), namely Arif Hidayat and Muhammad Fadhullah, successfully passed the Independent Entrepreneurship (WMK) program at Padjadjaran University (Unpad) Bandung. Independent Entrepreneurship is part of the Independent Campus program of the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology. It provides opportunities for students to learn and develop themselves to become potential entrepreneurs through activities outside of lectures. The Independent Entrepreneurship Program collaborates with the Implementing Universities Program to develop entrepreneurial learning that is able to hone the entrepreneurial spirit, encourage entrepreneurial experience and increase students’ employability abilities. The Independent Entrepreneurship (WMK) Program can be participated in by active students at the D2, D3, D4 and S1 levels (minimum semester 3 with a maximum conversion weight of 20 credits), as well as Master and Doctoral degrees (without SKS conversion).
Representing the Master of Communication Science study program at Diponegoro University (Undip), Arif and Fadhullah had the opportunity to study entrepreneurship at Padjadjaran University (Unpad) as the organizing campus for the Independent Entrepreneurship program. This entrepreneurial learning opportunity will be held for 1 semester from August to December 2023. The Independent Entrepreneurship (WMK) Program is attended by various students in Indonesia who are integrated with the Ministry of Education and Culture. As conveyed by Arif and Fadhullah, we are taking part in the Independent Entrepreneurship program because this program is one of the programs that postgraduate and doctoral program students can take part in under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, Technology and Higher Education. Not only that but having an entrepreneurial spirit is the basis for participating in this Independent Entrepreneurship (WMK) activity. Arif himself said that he had been interested in entrepreneurship since junior high school, as did Fadhullah. Products that Arif already owns include the SAN Pemarah, POTENSIAP, and the MONASS application. Meanwhile, Fadhullah said that he has a product, namely the Halodul platform.
The Master of Communication Science students at Diponegoro University (Undip) were selected and qualified to take part in Independent Entrepreneurship (WMK) at the campus of their choice, namely Padjadjaran University (Unpad). “We said that we chose Bandung, specifically Padjadjaran University (Unpad), because Bandung is known as a business center, so we hope to be able to explore and learn more about entrepreneurship directly in that place,” added Fadhullah. “The hope is that this program can create a place for entrepreneurship for young people. In the future, it can be realized well,” said Arif. The objectives of the Independent Entrepreneurship (WMK) program are:
- Igniting students’ interest and enthusiasm in entrepreneurship.
- Instilling a mindset and essential competencies in the field of entrepreneurship.
- Encouraging an increase in students’ entrepreneurial experience.
- Increasing employability capabilities of students.
- Helping to increase the capacity and quality of higher education graduates.
The series of Independent Entrepreneurship (WMK) activities consists of Pre-Immersion, Immersion and Post Immersion.
Wirausaha Merdeka supports the creation of 1 Million New Entrepreneurs in Indonesia. The Indonesian government, through Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 2 of 2022, has a target that by 2024, 1 million new entrepreneurs will be created. Independent entrepreneurship is one of the efforts of the Ministry of Education and Culture to fully support the creation of student entrepreneurship in Indonesia, with the tagline, namely Growing, Resilient, Firm.
