Diploma 3 students of the Management Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at Widyatama University (UTama), class of 2022, held a seminar and workshop entitled “Find Your Art From One Cup of Coffee” in the seminar room at Widyatama University, Bandung, on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. The seminar, titled “Capturing Business Opportunities from a Cup of Coffee,” and the Latte Art Coffee workshop were part of the implementation of the Meeting Incentive Conference & Exhibition (MICE) course, which focuses on hands-on practice in planning MICE events. It is important for D3 Management students to understand and be able to develop MICE planning, which includes event idea & concept planning, promotion planning through various media efforts, event financial planning, risk planning, operational activity management, and attracting sponsorship, so that students will have competencies related to the MICE field, ranging from local, national, to international scales.
The seminar was attended by 45 D3 Management students for a full day and through activities with the main theme “Find Your Art From One Cup of Coffee” was able to reflect the spirit of the overall activity, including participants invited to be directly involved in a series of seminars and workshops. The seminar, which was attended enthusiastically by the students, was also designed to foster creativity and improve participants’ skills in creating products in the creative industry. This initiative is in line with the efforts of the D3 Management program lecturers to empower students and young entrepreneurs to face the dynamics of the competitive creative industry.
The Head of the D3 Management Study Program, Dinda Kayani Putri Bestari, SMB., MM, said in her speech at the event that many students nowadays often follow the trend of drinking coffee at cafes or coffee shops.
“In the past, coffee was synonymous with an older generation’s drink, but with the rise of cafes and coffee shops, coffee has become a new trend among various groups of people, especially students,” said Dinda. With this seminar and workshop, it is hoped that the coffee trend can provide an overview of the opportunities for running a modern coffee shop business. Meanwhile, through the latte art workshop, it is hoped that students can be creative in making coffee drinks that are even more appetizing.
The Head of the D3 Management FEB UTama also hopes that events like this can continue with different themes and materials so that students can have the competencies in line with the disciplines taught.
Shaping Student Character Meanwhile, Desy Oktaviani, SE., MTA, a lecturer in the MICE course, said that events organized and attended by students can encourage them to understand and learn about various situations developing in the industrial world. Project-based learning activities such as this are expected to shape the character of students who have direct learning experiences and provide opportunities to learn from mistakes and accept evaluation results. According to the MICE course lecturer, who completed her master’s program in Tourism Management at Guangxi Normal University in Guilin, China, seminars related to MICE can also provide experience for students who will later be able to handle events properly and correctly.
The seminar, which attracted considerable attention from participants, was entirely handled by students from MICE classes A and B in their third semester. They were expected to hone their skills in understanding technical issues and their ability to work in teams so that the event could run smoothly. The workshop received positive responses from participants, with many questions and comments being asked while the speakers were presenting their material. “This event was very good. The material presented is indeed very much needed by us and is also very useful knowledge,” said Tanti, one of the participants who is also a student of the regular B D3 Management program. She also suggested that workshops like this continue to be held with different materials.
Not only the participants, but also one of the speakers, Randy Muhammad, CEO of PT. Caturra Raya Niaga, said that this kind of training is indeed important and useful for students. It is hoped that after completing their formal education, they can contribute to capturing business opportunities in the coffee shop industry. “Training like this needs to be continued in order to foster creativity and improve skills so that students can compete in the industry after they graduate,” said Randy after presenting the material on coffee shop management. In addition, Randy also expressed his appreciation to the organizers of the D3 Management program, especially the MICE class, for being able to carry out this activity in order to produce superior human resources.
Meanwhile, the Chair of the Activity, Wineu Cahyati, said that in the future, programs like this will not only be made as course projects, but can also become annual events for study programs on a broader scale.
According to Wineu, through activities like this, students have gained important and useful lessons and increased their knowledge about coffee management. Meanwhile, the committee, which also consists of students, can gain valuable experience in organizing an event. Activities that are important for students and need to be made into a permanent program are expected to help improve their soft and hard skills, which will be useful for their future careers.
Source of the article entitled “A Cup of Coffee as a Business Opportunity Discussed at the D3 FEB Widyatama University Student Seminar”, in full at (link: https://cirebon. pikiran-rakyat.com/pendidikan/pr-047416416/secangkir-kopi-sebagai-peluang-bisnis-dibahas-pada-seminar-mahasiswa-d3-feb-universitas-widyatama?page=4)
