Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta hosted the Semesta Merdeka Entrepreneurial Onboarding event, Monday (8/14/2023). A total of 300 selected students from 24 universities from all over Indonesia were invited to attend the Semesta onboarding ceremony at the Suhardi Hall, Building 3, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UNS.

UNS became one of the partner universities for the Kampus Merdeka to organize an initiative program from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), namely Wirausaha Merdeka (Merdeka Entrepreneurship). This program provides opportunities for students to learn and develop themselves into prospective entrepreneurs. They hone the entrepreneurial spirit, encourage entrepreneurial experience improvement, and increase student employability.

The Rector of UNS, Prof. Dr. Jamal Wiwoho, SH, M.Hum., attended the ceremony and delivered a speech to the students. While opening the ceremony, Prof. Jamal expressed his gratitude for the Ministry of Education and Culture’s trust in UNS to be the venue of this program implementation. He also fastened a symbolic participation sign by draping a co-card on two representative students, which was later followed by all students present.

“We hope this program can give birth to young entrepreneurs who make positive contributions to Indonesia,” said Prof. Jamal.

Additionally, Laksmindra Saptyawati, S.E., M.B.A., as the representative of Central Wirausaha Merdeka; representative of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI); Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association (APINDO); Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin); and Indonesia Marketing Association (IMA) were also attending the ceremony.

The Chairperson of the UNS 2023 WMK Onboarding Program, Khresna Bayu Sangka, S.E., M.M., Ph.D., CMILT, confirmed that this program is the result of multi-directorates collaboration at UNS and partner universities in its implementation. UNS carries the program under the “Sebelas Maret Startup Academy” (Semesta) Wirausaha Merdeka program. A curriculum specifically designed to prepare tough young Indonesian entrepreneurial candidates. “There are three main stages in this program namely, the Pre-immersion, Immersion, and Post-immersion, all these stages lasted for 1 semester with the potential to get 20 full semester credits,” explained Khresna.

Laksmindra Saptyawati, S.E., MBA., as a representative of the Central Merdeka Entrepreneurship program team, explained that the Merdeka Entrepreneurship program was established in response to the low percentage of entrepreneurs in Indonesia, which is only around 3.47% in Asia. The main focus of this program is to provide comprehensive entrepreneurship education through various workshops, training, and self-development programs.

Students gain knowledge of basic business concepts, business modeling, marketing, financial management, and business growth strategies. UNS successfully competed with various universities to become WMK 2023 implementing universities in improving the quality of national entrepreneurship.

Entering the main event, the agenda went on with a Talk Show Striking Success Story (3S) carrying the theme “Begin Our Business Journey” This activity presented the Founder and CEO of Creative Kokedama, Dwi Lili Indayani, and Founder of Allied Coffee Company, Ricky Vernandes Setiady. The talk show was led by Brian Gregory Adhihendra, S.E., M.Sc., as moderator.

Dwi Lili Indayani said that starting a business should be based on the interest in the activities done, as well as the need for focus and consistency in achieving success. Meanwhile, Ricky Vernandes Setiady revealed that to grow the business, it is important to maximize all potential. They agreed that the potential is not only related to money but also expanding a strong network can also be a valuable capital in the business world. Humas UNS

Reposted from uns.ac.id