CEO School IPB University Prepares Expedition Patriot Team to Become Agents of Change in Transmigration Areas
A total of 223 IPB University students, together with 57 accompanying lecturers, are ready to carry out a four-month community service mission in transmigration areas through the Expedition Patriot program.
Currently, the expedition team is participating in CEO School—a series of intensive briefings and mentoring—organized by the Directorate of Agromaritime Community Development (DPMA) at IPB University.
Director of Agromaritime Community Development at IPB University, Dr Handian Purwawangsa, stated that this briefing is specifically designed to prepare participants before they are deployed to their service locations in August.
“This program aims to provide conceptual knowledge and technical skills needed to support village development, strengthen local institutions, develop economic potential, and facilitate participatory and sustainable community empowerment,” said Dr Handian during the first day of CEO School, (7/28) at the IPB Dramaga Campus.
Through CEO School, participants are equipped with community-based leadership insights, community assistance strategies, management of village business ecosystems, and socio-economic development approaches in transmigration areas.
In addition, Dr Handian added, participants are also trained to possess analytical, adaptive, and strategic communication skills that fit the local context, including village potential mapping, intervention program design, and sustainable utilization of local resources.
“By upholding the spirit of collaboration and innovation, CEO School serves as a training and capacity acceleration space for participants so they can act as catalysts for change in transmigration areas,” he added.
Furthermore, participants are expected to understand the dynamics of development in transmigration areas, master community empowerment approaches based on local potential, as well as possess transformative leadership capacity that is adaptive to local social and cultural challenges.
For this reason, said Dr Handian, CEO School is also designed to encourage participants to design relevant and impactful work programs, strengthen collaborative networks with local stakeholders, and foster a spirit of innovation and service ethics.
“With this, the activity becomes an important foundation in preparing the strategic role of participants as agents of change who can make real contributions to accelerating development in transmigration areas,” he concluded.
Dr Asnuryati, SE, MSi, Associate Expert in Community Self-Reliance Development at the Ministry of Transmigration of the Republic of Indonesia, expressed full support. She hopes the expedition team can produce applicable policy recommendations based on the local potential in their assignment areas.
“We hope that from the output produced, especially from the areas where the IPB University expedition team is deployed, policy recommendations will emerge that we can use according to each region’s potential,” she said.
She also emphasized that her side has made various preparations to support the smooth running of this program, including coordination with local governments and securing the area.
Expedition Patriot itself is a service program designed to support the development of transmigration areas through scientific, participatory, and local potential-based approaches.
“This activity is a tangible form of collaboration between universities and the government in accelerating village and underdeveloped area development in Indonesia,” she concluded. (AS) (IAAS/EXC)
