The economic growth of all countries around the world has decreased due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, universities should not stand idly by. On the contrary, they can provide solutions and become a motor in increasing the nation’s competitiveness through technological development. Therefore, the innovators in universities can be a motor so that the nation’s economy can immediately bounce back, starting from development at the rural level. One of them had been done by SCS-CEL UGM students in Papua in recent years. It was stated in the Webinar entitled Socio-Economic Innovation for Achieving SDGs, which the Directorate of Research UGM held on Thursday (12/11). The speakers were a lecturer from the Faculty of Engineering and the Field Supervisor for the SCS-CEL UGM, Dr. Rachmat A. Sriwijaya, Head of Center for Rural and Regional Studies (PSPK), Dr. Suharko, and the Head of the Center for Tourism Studies, Prof. Dr. Janianton Damanik, M.Sc.
Rachmat A. Sriwijaya, who had been a field supervisor for eight consecutive times in the Papua region, said that moving the economy from the periphery was not easy. However, SCS-CEL UGM students have done this through various program innovations that they carry out according to their capacity each other’s knowledge.
According to Rahmat Sriwijaya, while guiding students of the community service program, the development challenges he encountered in Papua were indeed quite worrying in terms of infrastructure, limited transportation access, inadequate technological facilities, low education and community insight, and the economic level of families who were not yet prosperous. However, he added, Papua has much potential that can be developed from various agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors. “What we are doing is the concept of building from the periphery by building rural communities to improve skills, health, and improving infrastructure,” he said.
Rachmat said that there were six excellent programs implemented, including education, government, health, MSME development, and tourism. The MSME Division, for example, community service students become the driving force and provide training for home industries to be more productive. Then, socialization to youth on how to contribute more to development by training them to make sago machines. While in the field of education, it provides scientific knowledge for elementary school students. As for high school students, socialization and motivation are carried out to have a strong desire to enter college.
Furthermore, the provision of non-formal education training is carried out to improve reading skills for children living in coastal areas. Meanwhile, the Government Division provides training in using information and communication technology for village officials. “There are many village officials who have not been able to use computers. We also train them to make village budget preparations and empower women concerning their political rights,” he said.
Head of Center for Rural and Regional Studies (PSPK), Dr. Suharko, said that innovators are indispensable in encouraging the acceleration of village development. It is because village social innovation has contributed to the achievement of the SDGs development.
“The challenges ahead need to be replicating and scaling up village innovation practices to align with the concept of sustainable development to solve the collective problems faced by villages in Indonesia,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Head of Center for Tourism Studies UGM, Prof. Dr. Janianton Damanik, said that the tourism sector is one of the supports for the economic sector of people in rural areas. Although the tourism sector has been affected by the pandemic, he is confident that tourism will find momentum after the pandemic ends. According to him, the downstream of sustainable tourism practices is needed to encourage the emergence of a quality tourism model. “The need for tourism will be even greater, although it is determined from the health and economic aspects. Therefore, the tourism sector needs to be revitalized and accelerated again,” he said.
