“To be honest, this is the first time I’ve been sent out for the Community Service Programme. It’s been great fun and I’m delighted that the event was attended in person by the vice-chancellor and his team, as well as several senior officials from the local area,” said Naila, standing amongst the 470 students from the Faculty of Da’wah and Communication—out of a total of 3,725 students at UIN Sunan Kalijaga—who were wearing the distinctive Community Service Programme (KKN) gathered for the send-off ceremony for the 120th cohort of the Community Service Programme (KKN) in the courtyard of the UIN Sunan Kalijaga Postgraduate Building on Tuesday (7 July).
Naila explained that her group had carried out several observations and surveys at their placement location, namely Karangduku Village, Klaten, Central Java. Armed with the results of this mapping, they had designed a work programme deemed relevant to the needs of the local community.
“Firstly, I set up a ‘waste charity’ programme to support the SDGs on environmental sustainability. We are also digitising SDGs and running a dance studio in Karangduku Village. Hopefully, the programmes we have devised and designed can become sustainable initiatives that have a greater impact and support the economic well-being of the community,” said Naila hopefully.
The Rector of UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Prof. Noorhaidi, emphasised that this initiative is tangible evidence of the students’ commitment to sustainable innovation. He noted that this effort is in line with the university’s recent achievement of a significant ranking in the Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact rankings. “This Community Service Programme (KKN) is a tangible manifestation of sustainable innovation. We therefore extend our highest appreciation and recognition,” said Prof. Noorhaidi during his opening address. He reminded students to work alongside the community to realise the SDGs, such as poverty eradication and access to quality education.
Echoing the Rector’s sentiments, the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Prof. Abdur Rozaki, delivered a profound message on the meaning of community service. For him, the Community Service Programme (KKN) is an opportunity for students to learn to become patient leaders who practise mutual cooperation. “The KKN is not merely about you coming to a village; rather, it is about you returning to Indonesia and getting to know Indonesia anew,” he said, reminding students not to become a burden, but rather to act as catalysts for the village’s assets so that it can become self-reliant.
The students’ arrival was warmly welcomed by the local government, represented by the Deputy Regent of Rembang, Mochamad Hanies Cholil Barro’. He viewed the students’ presence as a vital bridge between academic theory and social reality. Gus Hanies, as he is affectionately known, hoped that the students would not merely come and go, but would be able to explore the specific potential of the villages. “This is a meeting point between the university and the government. There is a regional development agenda that has been drawn up, linking the knowledge available at the university with the social realities in their respective regions,” he explained.
The send-off ceremony, which concluded with an istighosah and communal prayer, marked the start of a 40-day journey for the students to leave a legacy of goodwill.