“Students' insights and intelligence skills will increase through this activity," Unipa Vice Rector Keliopas Krey said at the “Special Autonomy (Otsus) Goes to Campus” activity here on Thursday.
The activity has been initiated by USAID to increase students' skills in monitoring the special autonomy program.
According to Krey, programs like “Otsus Goes to Campus” need to be held regularly in order to encourage the emergence of local champions or students as the driving forces for community development activities.
"This is related to students' non-academic skills that are not fully obtained on campus, so some courses (outside campus) need to be recognized," he said.
The “Otsus Goes to Campus” program aligns with the Freedom in Learning, Freedom in Campus (MBKM) program that has been implemented by Unipa, he added.
"It can be packaged in the form of courses that have a semester credit system (SKS)," he said.
He then lauded USAID, which is focusing on improving locals' governance and community participation in regional development.
Synergy between universities and partner institutions would have a significant impact on improving the quality of Papua's human resources, he added.
The program also includes an integrated internship at ministries/institutions in order to realize a successful special autonomy region, he informed.
"If the program runs for five years, then many things can be synergized with the campus," Krey added.
He said that students, as the nation's future leaders, must be given space to realize their abilities.
Therefore, partner institutions are expected to involve students in various activities, especially advocacy for the implementation of special autonomy policies throughout the land of Papua, he added.
"We are always open to institutions outside the campus so that our students can be involved," he said.
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Translator: Fransiskus W, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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