IPB University Graduated 29 Sheep Farmers in Village Campus Graduation Event
IPB University successfully held the Village Campus Graduation which took place at Saung Kampus Desa Mekar Jaya RT 05/RW 06, Neglasari Village, Dramaga District, Bogor Regency (9/5). On this occasion, the Rector of IPB University, Prof Arif Satria, graduated 29 graduates who were sheep breeders in Neglasari Village.
“This Village Campus graduation is the first in Indonesia, and indeed in the world. No other institution has held a Village Campus before,” said Village Campus Program Coordinator, Dr Ir Yannefri Bakhtiar.
He explained that the Village Campus program was first implemented by the Center for Human Resource Development (P2SDM) of IPB University in 2016 and had received intellectual property rights from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in 2021. In Neglasari Village, the sheep thematic Village Campus Program has been running since 2019.
“The program involves two groups of farmers, namely Mekar Jaya and Sugih Mukti. During 16 meetings, participants received various materials such as healthy sheep breeding, forage feed, feed planting practices, cage sanitation, sheep marketing networks, and the potential of sheep educational tourism villages,” he explained.
In his speech, Prof Arif appreciated the performance and efforts of the graduates in participating in the Village Campus program. He explained, society will advance if it is close to technology. IPB University as a university is committed to spreading science and technology in order to increase community productivity.
“IPB University has been present in 4,200 village points in Indonesia in order to build community independence with innovation and technology that is distributed. In addition, we help people build connectivity with the market. If we want to be stronger, we are required to always innovate. That way, an independent society will be created,” he said.
The same thing was conveyed by the Head of P2SDM IPB University, Associate Prof Amiruddin Saleh. According to him, the running of the Village Campus cannot be separated from the participation of various parties, both local governments and local communities. He emphasized that the Village Campus program is a concrete step of IPB University in an effort to empower the community.
“A program like this coaching is not enough for two years. We hope that it can continue to run so that people in the village are not only empowered, but also independent,” he concluded.
The first Village Campus Graduation was attended by the Head of Bogor Regency Tourism and Culture Office, Dramaga Sub-District Head, and Neglasari Village Head. In addition, several exchange students from the University of British Columbia (UBC) were also present and witnessed the procession. (IAAS/RUM)
