John Salale, GM Operational PT Pindad International Logistic, is proud of Widyatama University (UTama) students who have completed internships at PT Pindad, an industrial and manufacturing company engaged in the manufacture of military and commercial products.
At that time, UTama students participated in a certified mentoring internship program that was implemented about two years ago, before the launch of the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka program.
He is proud of UTama students who have interned at PT Pindad because they are mature, intelligent, and easily adapt to the work environment at PT Pindad.
“I told Prof. Obi, Rector of Widyatama University, during a gathering. In terms of soft skills and socialization, they are already good. Whether it’s socializing with friends or anyone else. Students from other campuses are not necessarily bad, but they need to be nurtured further,” said John on Monday (March 29, 2021).
“For example, I once gave them an assignment to be completed in two weeks. However, I was surprised that in just two days, they were able to complete it well,” he added.
Now that the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka program has been launched, John provided virtual training on Saturday (March 27, 2021) to 75 students from the Faculty of Engineering at UTama who will be doing internships (studying outside the campus) at several state-owned enterprises, companies, universities, and others.
There are several important points that John shared with them. According to him, UTama students must start shaping their career paths now, not after they graduate. Will they become entrepreneurs, civil servants, work in state-owned enterprises, foreign companies, join the military, the police, or something else?
John also said that they must have excellent hard skills that are honed to perfection in order to be competitive.
“For example, a welder does not just weld. The products we produce at PT Pindad, such as the ”Maung“ vehicle and the ‘Anoa’ armored vehicle, are not just welded together; there is training involved,” said John.
However, the most important thing is that they must possess soft skills. This refers to the results of a study conducted by a university in the United States, which found that hard skills account for 15% of the importance, while soft skills account for 85%.
John Salale, SE., GM Operational PT Pindad International Logistic
“That’s why soft skills must be improved by students,” said John, who once handled an internship program at PT Pindad.
“Since I come from a state-owned enterprise, I provided an overview of how they should prepare themselves to work in a state-owned enterprise, including what the conditions are like. This is so that their skills can be further honed in a state-owned enterprise,” he added.
He added that what determines whether an employee is promoted quickly is their soft skills.
“Soft skills that must be possessed include critical thinking, quick decision-making, giving advice and input, frequent discussion, interactive discussion, and responding to differences of opinion. Well, all of that can only be changed or controlled by the individual themselves,” said John.
This includes behavior in the workplace. When entering the work environment, employees must get used to greeting everyone, including introducing themselves.
“Because in the industrial world or the workplace, there are still seniors. Even if they already know, they must get used to making small talk, asking for guidance or direction when they are doing a job that will be done. Even though they already know their duties. There are no lessons for that in college,” said John.
UTama students participating in the internship program must also continue to improve their knowledge. This is because the knowledge required to work should not be overlooked. According to him, knowledge does not only come from lecturers; students can also obtain it in other ways, such as searching for information from various sources and surfing the internet.
Meanwhile, Vice Rector for Academic, Student Affairs and Learning, Prof. Dadang Suganda, said that university internship programs are desirable because students will gain a lot of experience and skills.
“Of course, it will add to the intellectual capital and skills of our students,” said Prof. Dadang.
Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Dr. M. Rozahi Istambul, S.Kom. M.T.
“Incidentally, the Faculty of Engineering has already entered into cooperation agreements with PT Pindad, United Tractors, PTDI, and other companies,” added Prof. Dadang.
According to Dadang, providing training to internship students is very good and should be done by every study program. This is because students must also be equipped with the necessary skills to be able to carry out their internships well.
“The faculty prepares standards and guidelines for technical matters related to internships. Then, in relation to our partners, I see that PT Pindad, United Tractors, and PTDI are already professional,” said Dadang.
“They have been accustomed to accepting interns, so the tasks assigned by the university to interns are well prepared. We heard from Pindad how they explained that the internship implementation they have prepared is very much in line with the independent campus program, both as used by the Directorate General of Higher Education and by the university,” said Dadang.
He believes that PT Pindad, United Tractors, and PTDI will provide his students with valuable experience. This experience is not only related to science and academic skills, but also to soft skills.
“Mr. John explained the soft skills implemented at PT Pindad. And that is very relevant to what we have programmed. So we believe that the output of this internship will truly provide our students with knowledge. So that they have a very complete set of intellectual skills,” said Prof. Dadang.
From a substantive point of view, his party greatly appreciates this. Prof. Dadang also advised that this activity should be continued.
In the future, it will not only be 75 students, but students from the next batch (their juniors).
From an administrative perspective, this massive activity will ultimately accelerate students’ graduation.
In addition, this internship program is a certified program. After completing the internship, students will receive a certificate based on professional competencies that are relevant to the present and future world.
“They will get two benefits. First, their internship experience will be recognized as part of their curriculum completion. Second, they will receive a certificate that will be an asset when applying for jobs or creating jobs that are in line with the times,” said Prof. Dadang.
As Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Learning, he praised the aggressiveness of the UTama Faculty of Engineering in implementing the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka program, especially student learning outside the campus.
Meanwhile, Rozahi Istambul, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at UTama, added that the briefing session for the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka internship program was a follow-up to the MoA with 61 companies, which was conducted two weeks earlier.
“This is part of the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka program. One of the requirements is to bring documents ranging from contract agreements to providing orientation to students. Students must also submit weekly reports for six months,” said Rozahi.
According to Rozahi, the final results will be used to recognize the internship activities.
“This is the result of a semester-long learning process for students outside the campus. If there are eight courses in a semester, then the participating students have met the assessment criteria for those courses through internship programs at companies or in the industrial world,” he explained.
The 75 engineering students participating in the program are from the industrial engineering, computer science, information systems, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering programs.
“The program will begin in the even semester of the sixth semester. If there are students who are interested, it is possible for students who are currently interning to participate again for one semester in the seventh semester,” said Rozahi.
“So, they will truly spend a year learning outside the campus. They will implement the skills they learned in lectures while gaining soft skills experience at the company. The focus here is on our students’ ability to socialize with their work environment, leaders, colleagues, and so on. Students are not only equipped with knowledge on campus; the most important thing is how to socialize,” added Rozahi.
When asked why the briefing was only conducted by three companies, he explained that due to time constraints, it was impossible for all 61 companies to provide briefings. The three companies represented were PT Pindad, United Tractors, and PTDI.
“Students are given knowledge when they are in the business or industrial world. They must be able to adjust, adapt, and build their potential. That is why it is a requirement for them to be able to combine the knowledge they have gained at university with social skills in the community. That is why this training is very important,” concluded Rozahi.
(Source: majalahsora.com)
