IPB Student Makes Santri as Mentor for Millennial Generation

Amid the demoralization of the younger generation due to the negative impacts of social media, a student of the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Mar’ie Muhammad, designed a mentoring method called ‘Integrated Family Mentoring (I-FM) or Family Integrated Assistance Based on Bot Line Accounts’. This method becomes a strategy to foster the character of the millennial generation and make students at a Muslim school (santri) as mentors.

Through this work, Mar’ie won 1st place in the Gebyar CSSMoRa competition held by Indonesia University of Education on 15 December 2018 with the theme ‘Challenges of Santri in Facing Demographic Bonus in the Future’.

Santri can be an example for the younger generation because they have a good understanding of religion. On the other hand, the millennial generation has its own challenges in civilization, especially in the delivery of preaching (dakwah), so methods of contemporary preaching that can touch millennial generation are needed, one of which is through social media.

Mar’ie Muhammad created Integrated Family Mentoring (I-FM) or Family Integrated Assistance Based on Bot Line accounts, which is the strategy of character building that is systematic, sustainable and in accordance with the world of millennial generation. “Through this method the santri will act as a mentor, while the target of I-FM is the millennial generation at the elementary, middle and high school levels as mentees,” explained Mar’ie Muhammad.

Technically, I-FM Online is one class of students divided into small groups of 5-10 people. Each small group is included in a Line group containing the Bot I-FM account and Mentor. The task of the Bot I-FM account is as a provider of character education content, while the mentor will act as an explanation of the content values provided by the Bot I-FM.

“I hope that this application can be utilized as good as possible. The potential of demographic bonus of 2030 results in an explosion of young people, thus, we can encourage them to be religious and devoted and have integrity so they can become leaders who will bring positive progress to this country in its golden age in 2045,” he said. (SM/Zul/ZSP)