Four UNIB students participated in international academic activities, in the Social Enterprise for Economic Development (SEED) Program which was held by Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, April 30th to May 5th, 2019, at Setiu Wetlands, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.
The four students are Arfan Diantama, Gita Selvia and Sharinna Raiini Martial from Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), and Nadya Aprilianti from Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FKIK).
The Social Enterprise for Economic Development (SEED) program of ASEAN Learning Network is a Social Entrepreneurship program for Economic Development, emphasizing student-centered learning initiatives. In this program, students are socially responsible and require that they work together in multicultural teams, devote their abilities and experience in real life contexts in poor villages in Southeast Asia.
Apart from UNIB (Indonesia), this program also involves and is participated by students from Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
The students learn and understand through practice by developing appropriate business plans with villagers who will be carried out by the villagers themselves.
After understanding the problems faced by villagers based on their perceptions, then they propose ideas that deserve to be mutually agreed upon, then change the mindset of the villagers through empathy and understanding between cultures.
The success of this program is largely determined by effective team work, so it is acquired skills in intercultural management, transformational leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Setiu Wetlands is the largest natural wetland in the East Coast region of Peninsular Malaysia, measuring 23,000 hectares. Setiu Wetlands combines various ecosystems including fresh water, sea water, brackish water, and has a lagoon of 14 Km.
The lagoon is a natural port for fishing boats of fishermen around the area. Local communities are involved in the fisheries and home industry sectors that produce traditional sea-based foods which include fish crackers, shrimp paste, and fermented fish sauce.
During the SEED program, the four UNIB delegation students were rewarded with several awards, which were awarded as the Best Video Presentation, Best Group Presentation, and Best Business Plan. This proves that UNIB students are not only participating, but also able to compete and excel in these international activities.[Hms1/ksli/eve].