University students are now demanded to become entrepreneurs besides being academicians. Higher education has to support the students so that they will become creative, imaginative, and brave to take risk. Most of students’ mindset is that they can work as a staff in a huge company. The higher their education, the greater their prestige and the lower their autonomy as well as their enthusiasm about entrepreneurship. Therefore, higher education possesses essential roles in providing entrepreneurship occasions for the students.
The aforementioned paragraph was conveyed by Dr. Ir. Bambang Supriyadi, CES, DEA as a coordinator of KOPERTIS Region V acting as a speaker of Student Enterpreneurship Training. The training was organized by Student Entrepreneurship Business Incubator (SEBI) of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY). It was conducted at A.R. FachruddinA, Floor 5, UMY. 50 private universities in DIY joined the training.
Bambang stated that the number of entrepreneurs in Indonesia is only 0.18% of the number of Indonesians whereas government expects the number can be 25%. “Hence, higher education has vital roles to encourage and foster the number of entrepreneurs in Indonesia. The graduates are supposed to be prepared as job creators instead of job seekers. The small number of entrepreneurs affects on the number of jobs which is not in line with the number of job seekers. We may not be afraid of learning and trying. You have to dare to compete with graduates of elementary school daring to open jobs,” he maintained.
According to Bambang, higher education is a place to create intellectually comprehensive young generation. “Thus, all institutions of higher education have to provide a course of entrepreneurship theoretically and in practice. The entrepreneurship lecturers are the experts on the field, or entrepreneurs can be invited to teach the course. It is one of the ways to provide a chance for students to contribute to create smart and comprehensive young generation,” he argued.
Furthermore, Rector of UMY Prof. Bambang Cipto, M.A. contended that, when graduating, students should become not only job seekers but also job creators. They have to be able to open jobs to reduce the number of unemployment getting increase each year. “Do not think of being civil servants although they gain big salary and become and are guaranteed till retiring. For one reason, we may not become brave to face any challenges. Thus, students have to be more creative and do not think about the prestige.
Besides, Secretary of KOPERTIS Region V Yun Widiati, S.H. maintained that Indonesia has the third greatest number of citizens in this world after Russia and China. “This number may not boomerang on us. We have to take opportunities from the number. For instance, Indonesian people have to improve the education. Hence, in 2025 they are more competent in their productive age.
Yun inserted that there are a lot of challenges which Indonesia people, particularly young generation, have to confront. First, the challenges are free sex and pornography which everyone now can access. Second, aggressiveness and anarchism reign among youths. “The third challenge is radicalism. It may be very harmful since the target is students so that you have to be careful. Do not join peculiar organizations. Consider the organizations as knowledge instead of something to follow,” she advised.
Yun suggested that students become smart and comprehensive since it is essential for the development of nation. “Being smart and comprehensive means that students have good spiritual, critical thinking, creative, balance of emotion and social, as well as kinesthetic. The students have to be able to compete using their skills. You can utilize forums in campus to enhance your abilities,” she said.
Yun informed that KOPERTIS Region V provide a medium for students to learn and start business through Student Entrepreneurship of Rural Development (MAUDESA). MAUDESA is an entrepreneurship program for students. “MAUDESA aims at fostering partnership between private universities and rural areas as the implementation of Three Principles of Higher Education (Tri Dharma perguruan tinggi). The second aim of the MAUDESA is to provide occasions for students having interest and motivation in entrepreneurship. Third, it also points at enhancing performance of small and medium businessmen, cooperative, and groups to grow new business units in village. In 2015, there are 22 groups we coach and we expect that the program can be sustainable,” she wished.
To start the program, all KOPERTIS Region V cooperated with UMY to conduct the Student Entrepreneurship Training with theme of ‘From Campus to Be Young Entrepreneurs’. The schedules of the event were entrepreneurship training, entrepreneurship expo, field trip, and business plan competition. The event also aimed at raising awareness of academicians, encouraging students’ enthusiasm about creating jobs since their study, and foster entrepreneurship atmosphere.
