Depok-Nasywaa Nariswari Putri, a student of the Office Administration study program, Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI), successfully brought home 2nd Place for Best Video Project Innovation at the International Youth Innovation Summit (IYIS) some time ago in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. IYIS is an international youth program that focuses on encouraging innovation among young people from various regions in Indonesia, such as Aceh, Riau, Medan, Padang, and others. This event is an inspiring forum that invites young people to gather and share ideas, knowledge, and experiences in creating positive change in society by creating an innovation.
Nasywaa and the team consisting of students from the Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Universitas Muhammadiyah Riau, Universitas Darussalam Gontor, and SMAS Al-Azhar Plus Medan, prepared an innovation in the form of an educational platform called “EduConnect”, a platform that connects parents, teachers, and students, in order to increase the role of parents in education, strengthen teacher skills, and provide career paths for students. Departing from the phenomenon of education issues that still need attention and are in line with the fourth point of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely Quality Education, Nasywaa said that education is an important key in today’s increasingly advanced era. “EduConnect is designed to address the problem of low parental involvement, the need for teacher professional development, and the lack of student career guidance in Indonesia,” said Nasywaa.
(Photo: Nasywaa during a competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
According to data from the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2020, only 17% of parents are actively involved in their children’s education, which has an impact on low student achievement. UNICEF data also noted that 1 in 4 teachers in Indonesia do not have regular access to professional development. In addition, World Bank research revealed that the lack of career guidance makes students less focused in choosing a study path, thus affecting their career readiness. Therefore, the “EduConnect” Application is here to address these three problems.
In preparing for the competition, Nasywaa and the team also conducted various thorough research on the innovations created, as well as improving public speaking skills to convey ideas and presentations. In addition, teamwork is an important point in achieving this success. Nasywaa added, “However, there are various challenges when facing the competition. Starting from time management between lectures and competitions, to responsibility and cooperation with the team that must be built as well as possible.”
(Photo: Nasywaa presents the innovation brought by her team)
Director of UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, said that Nasywaa and her team’s participation in the competition was a forum to study global challenges in depth. According to her, the spotlight on the quality of education from the perspective of the younger generation is key to the development of education, especially in Indonesia in the future. “I hope that these fresh ideas and innovations can have an extraordinary impact on society. Hopefully, Nasywaa’s achievements can be an example for other students to continue to make the name of the Universitas Indonesia proud,” said Padang.
