PKBL TWC LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE STUDENT PROGRAM

PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan & Ratu Boko (Persero) through the Partnership and Community Development Program (PKBL) distributed grant funds of 150 million rupiah to three groups of students from UGM and UNY, Tuesday (17/11/2020). This business capital assistance fund is a form of PT TWC's support for the development of an entrepreneurial spirit among students in Yogyakarta.

The awarding ceremony for the winners of the 'Innovative Students' program which took place at Plashopia Cafe, Warungboto, Yogyakarta was attended directly by the Corporate Secretary of PT TWC Emilia Eny Utari, Head of SPI PT TWC Widaryanti, Manager of PKBL PT TWC Bambang Sarwo Eddy, Head of Entrepreneurship Development Section UGM Supriani and Entrepreneurship Supervisor Lecturer UNY Adeng Pustikaningsih.

This program is one of the flagship programs of PKBL PT TWC to support the development of entrepreneurial potential in students, especially in Yogyakarta. This newly running program is realized by filtering student talents from universities in Yogyakarta.

"This is the first time we have collaborated with a university, especially for an innovative student program. In the future, after the pandemic is over, we will not only do something as small as this. We will do something bigger and more complex so that we can have a greater impact on students. This is also in accordance with the recommendations of the Indonesian government in realizing more entrepreneurs in the future." explained the Corporate Secretary of PT TWC Emilia Eny Utari in her speech.

In line with that, the campus also strongly supports this program. Entrepreneurship development programs for students are deemed necessary so that they can be independent after graduating. "Please provide assistance so that our students can also develop their businesses. We hope that through this program, students when they graduate will not only be independent with their businesses but also open up bigger job opportunities." Said the Head of the UGM Entrepreneurship Development Section, Supriani

In this first program, two business proposals from UGM students (Minofarm and Kheisia) and one group of UNY students (Plashopia Cafe) succeeded in getting grant funds of 50 million rupiah each. This fund will be the capital for the business that has been planned previously.

"Since semester 2 (now semester 7), I personally wanted to have a comfortable halfway house just for people to tell stories. So we proposed to make this cafe," explained the head of the Plashopia Cafe business group, Satria Yudhistira.

In this event, PT TWC also officially opened Plashopia Cafe. The shop that sells various coffee menus with various concoctions is located in the Glagahsari area, Warungboto, Yogyakarta.

“We should be proud, because one of the grant recipient groups has been able to walk straight away. Of course, with high spirits we can realize what we want. The pandemic period, don't make us unable to be creative at all. We must be able to do various positive things. With our work, with our entrepreneurial spirit, we will rise.” Emilia added.

Another member of the winning group, Ahmad Arifullah, said that this program can hone students' abilities and talents in entrepreneurship. "It is very good to develop the character of students who are interested in entrepreneurship. This program is highly recommended, because it can realize the business ideas in our brains." Said the 2017 Faculty of Animal Husbandry student who raised a rabbit farming business with four of his friends.

Developing talent is one of the reasons why students take the path of entrepreneurship. Agnes, a 2017 UGM Philosophy student admitted that she joined the Innovative Student program to develop her talent in the field of wood crafts.

"My parents' background is indeed wood craftsmen. My hometown is also a craft village. I want to develop this craft into a product with high selling value. We will empower the wood waste around and we will make unique crafts with carvings that we take from various regions in Indonesia." explained Agnes who with two of her friends runs her product Keishia.

Meanwhile, PT TWC PKBL Manager Bambang Sarwo Eddy added that this program will target a wider range of participants. In addition, this Innovative Student program will also grow by involving other universities in Yogyakarta.

"It turns out that many students have the ability to develop entrepreneurship, but are limited by capital. Here the role of PT TWC through PKBL is trying to bridge this problem. We are here to be a partner of campuses and students in honing this entrepreneurial talent. In the future, we are also interested in developing a similar program targeting vocational school students. They already have good abilities, it's just a matter of how to develop this so that they can be independent." He concluded.