Bandung, Telkom University – Merdeka Learning Campus Program (MBKM) is one of the government’s flagship programs that aim to make students master various sciences and provide opportunities to hone skills by going directly into the world of work. Telkom University (Tel-U) is one of the private universities (PTS) that supports the MBKM Program by sending these programs to faculties to be implemented in various education, research, and community service programs by the academic community.
To implement the Ministry of Education and Culture’s recommendation regarding MBKM, Telkom University implemented the WRAP (Work Ready Program) flagship program, which consists of 3 curriculum choices to prepare students: internship, research, and entrepreneurship. By developing three choices of curriculum structures, it is hoped that students will be better prepared to face challenges in the industrial era 4.0.
As part of Telkom University, the Faculty of Creative Industries (FIK) also actively participates in the MBKM program. This program is run in all study programs at FIK, namely S1 Visual Communication Design, S1 Product Design, S1 Interior Design, S1 Craft, and S1 Fine Arts. Meanwhile, 6 MBKM programs are running, namely: 1) Entrepreneurship; 2) Student Exchange; 3) Internship/Industrial Practice; 4) Projects in the Village; 5) Research/ Research; 6) Independent Projects/Studies.
Furthermore, the Dean of the Faculty of Creative Industries, Telkom University, Dr. Roro Retno Wulan, continues to encourage and oversee the MBKM program running in a broader form to be able to produce creative students who are adaptive to the needs of the world of work. So that the results of the MBKM learning program can continue to improve the quality of FIK students in the future. One of the grant programs obtained by FIK is the 2021 PKKM Grant for the Interior Design Study Program, which received funding of 900 million rupiahs. This funding is implemented in various forms of activities that are part of the MBKM program; namely, the majority of students focus on the fields of (1) architecture and the interior of the archipelago; (2) digital interiors and technology; and (3) furniture and experimental design.
FIK was one of the successful recipients of the Research Program Funding grant. This study highlights the implementation of the MBKM Program at FIK, which involves students, lecturers, and education staff and is carried out in December 2021. The research method used is an intrinsic case study focusing on cases of MBKM implementation in 2021 at FIK. The study results indicate that the MBKM program is a reasonably new educational program in Indonesia. According to the Dean of the Faculty of Creative Industries, Dr. Roro Retno Wulan, S.Sos., M.Pd, “88% of MBKM activities are in the form of entrepreneurial activities. It is in line with the master plan for the development of TelU in 2022, which is to become an Entrepreneur University.”
With funding assistance from the Director-General of Higher Education, Research and Technology, Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology help FIK in researching so that it can carry out continuous improvement and development in the MBKM process.