Kampus Merdeka - Independent Campus

James Cook University-The Cairns Institute and the State University of Malang during the past year, have conducted research on Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (Independent Campus Freedom to Learn). President Jokowi’s appointment of Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim as the Minister of Education in Indonesia has created pathways to overhaul the way higher education engages with industry. Nadiem Makarim coming from a business background, he established an innovative business Go-Jek now valued in excess of 10 billion dollars, now leads the Ministry of Education advocating a concept of ‘emancipated learning’ titled Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM). MBKM aims to prepare Indonesia’s future generation of students by encouraging a learning process that facilitates the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for the world of work.

The research examined the learning experience of Indonesian students who participated in a recent MBKM ‘internship program’. The study used a qualitative data collection and analysis method which involved a survey of 107 University of Malang students and involved conducting individual and focus group discussions in order to ascertain the student’s individual perspectives on learning. The research sought to identify improvements that could be made to the MBKM program in order to enhance the learning experience for the students, university management, industry partners and Indonesian educational policy makers. The research findings included providing clarity of learning achievement by documenting outcomes and facilitating a data bank or jobs desk within participating internship companies to match student expectations with the most appropriate industry setting. The Ministry of Education’s disbursal of funds to the participating institutions could be more streamlined and simplified, which could assist universities to align their management and curriculum requirements with the industry internship partners.

Our research has been published in the recent edition of Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 23(9), 1-17 and is titled: Engaging With Industry Through Internships in Order to Acquire the Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes for the World of Work: The Indonesian Student Experience. Our Indonesian University of Malang collaborators are Muslihati, Ahmad Yusuf Sobri, Surjani Wonorahardjo and Ani Wilujeng Suryani. The Cairns Institute researchers include Dr Adam Voak and Dr Brian Fairman.