PR USU - Being away from parents or family who accompany and pay attention to all of our needs is not an easy thing to do. Moreover, they have to live with other people who were not known before, in a strange area with minimal facilities, and have to carry out a number of obligations and activities that they never even thought would be handled before.

This feeling has been gnawing at the hearts of the Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) students for several weeks who are conducting the 2022 Thematic Real Work Lecture (KKNT). No less than 1,909 USU KKNT participants, both regular and extended ones, have been dispatched on a regular basis. gradually from 8 to 15 September last. For the Regular KKNT, USU students are distributed in 7 districts/cities in North Sumatra Province, namely; Karo, Dairi, Samosir, Simalungun, North Tapanuli, Humbang Hasundutan and Padang Lawas. Meanwhile, the Extended KKNT is also placed in 7 districts/cities, namely; Medan, Langkat, Binjai, Deli Serdang, Tebing Tinggi, Asahan and Batu Bara.

For those who are placed in the Medan City area, of course there is not much adaptation that must be done during the KKNT. However, this is not the case with those placed in the regions. Ahmad Tarmizi, is one of them. The 2019 USU Law Study Program student got a lot of new experiences over the past few days. He and several other USU students were placed in Sipira Village, Onan Runggu District, Samosir Regency, North Sumatra Province. Ahmad Tarmizi is one of 152 students from 3 faculties, namely; faculties of law, agriculture, and cultural sciences stationed in Samosir Regency. The USU students were previously divided into 9 groups, for 3 KKNT locations, namely Sipira Village, Onan Runggu District, Tomok Village and Tuktuk Siadong Village, Simanindo District.

Tarmizi started KKN activities from September 21, 2022, and is planned to end on October 23, 2022. He admitted that he had many memorable experiences, such as harvesting coffee plants, Dutch eggplant and avocado at an altitude of +/- 1200 masl.

“It was really a memorable experience for me. Apart from that I have never done that before, but also when harvesting it, I can also see the beautiful view of Lake Toba and its hills. The air is also very fresh and natural, different from the city of Medan,” he said when contacted by the USU public relations team.

He said that his daily routine during KKN started from waking up at 07.00 A.M. in the morning, which was followed by making their own beds and washing dishes with their group of friends. After that, together with his group he began to carry out a work program from 9 am to 12 noon, before taking a break and having lunch which was scheduled from 12.00 P.M to 02.00 PM. After the break, they resumed their work program until 05.30 PM, which was followed by Maghrib and Isha prayers in Muslim congregation. After dinner, the activity was closed by conducting a routine daily evaluation for the next day's activities.

Tarmizi explained, during KKN they were taught to build chemistry between friends so they could be invited to work together and collaborate in building the village they live in. Of course the process is not always smooth, where there are always differences of opinion between friends. Uniting the mindset of different characters, sometimes always triggers offense. According to him, many ideas came from a group of friends, but on the day of execution they became less enthusiastic about doing it, thus hampering or prolonging the completion of the work program.

"So every day we always have an evaluation or deliberation to solve the problems we face, and it becomes an experience to face other problems the next day," he said.

As a leader in his KKN group, Tarmizi feels grateful to have received a lot of leadership knowledge, on how to be a good leader. He also learned how to socialize with indigenous peoples, which is in stark contrast to urban communities. He also learned how to garden and cultivate coffee from the local community.

“We are very grateful that the community is very welcome with our arrival here. They welcomed us warmly, and were even given a house to rent for free during the KKN activity. When we carry out work programs, such as cleaning the springs, we are also loaned the necessary tools. Even the village people also intervened to provide energy assistance," he added.

During KKN, they were in one of the village officials' houses, in the form of a traditional Batak house. One house is inhabited by 17 students. One of the difficulties faced in daily routines is the issue of MCK (public bathing, washing, toilet facilities).

“In the first week the bathroom couldn't be used because it was full. After all, the bathroom can only be used for women. Because the water supply was also difficult, we men were forced to bathe in the spring. That's where we wash clothes too," he said.

He hoped that after the KKN ended, hopefully USU could further explore or survey what themes were given to each village, so that the themes and work programs could be implemented more effectively and in accordance with what was expected by students, the community and the university.

Surely it's not only Ahmad Tarmizi who feels the changes and new experiences in the 2022 USU KKNT. There are still thousands of other students who experience many different things in the implementation of the KKNT that they participate in. They also do not only exist in villages where the majority of the population works as farmers. However, there are also those that are distributed in fishing villages, tourist villages and so on, which of course have more interesting experiences that cannot be described one by one.

They mingle and engage in activities with the local community, carrying out various work programs and activities as the community in the area where they are placed. There are those who participate in farming, doing typical activities in fishing communities, weaving and increasing the productive economy. The students also carry out educational activities for the community, in the form of socializing various efforts to increase the economy and production, and others. By participating in the KKNT, they are expected to have new abilities, skills and views on the real reality of life, which can be harmonized with the knowledge gained on campus.

Previously, in the symbolic release of KKN by the USU Rector in the courtyard of the USU Central Administrative Bureau Building, Dr. Muryanto Amin stated that the KKNT was carried out to support the integration of the application of teaching, research and service values ​​in order to provide practical benefits to the community and was part of the MBKM program. According to him, USU has an obligation to realize community service.

"USU KKNT program is based on the Village SDGs of the Ministry of Village PDTT with the aim of preparing students to become graduates with the capacity as true learners who are competent, flexible and resilient (agile learners)," he said.

To that end, Muryanto advised that USU KKNT participants could study in the village with enthusiasm, responsibility, take care of themselves and protect the good name of the alma mater. “By participating in the KKNT, students can apply their knowledge directly in the field. Furthermore, they get convenience, maintain politeness, and can return to stay healthy and safe, "he said.

Meanwhile, USU LPPM Secretary Meutia Nauly, S.Psi, M.Si, Psychologist hopes that the KKNT process can run well, in the context of students learning about maintaining politeness and respecting villagers.

The KKN scheme itself is implemented for 10 categories namely; Healthy Village (Improving public and environmental health), Tourism Village (Improved tourism business management), Disaster Resilient Village (Mitigation and capacity building to realize DESTANA), Digital Literacy Village (Improved understanding & use of ICT), Cultural Village (Culture and Wisdom Conservation) Local), Smart Village (Empowerment of formal and non-formal education), Bangkit Economic Village (Improvement of Creative Economy Production and MSMEs), Green Village (Utilization of environmental and agricultural resources), Tolerant Village (Improved Legal Understanding and strengthening the social order of society) and Prosperous Village (Increased socio-economic welfare).

The regular KKNT is mandatory and is worth the equivalent of 4 credits with a duration of 7 weeks, while the MBKM or extended KKNT is optional and is worth the equivalent of 16 credits with a duration of 16 weeks.

Learning and Working in the Village is a USU KKNT program based on the spirit of village empowerment and development, especially in the province of North Sumatra. This program is a form of education that provides students with a learning experience, to live in a village community. The aim is to hone the soft skills and hard skills of partnerships as well as student leadership in managing development programs in rural areas. The implementation is in collaboration between interdisciplinary and mono-disciplinary competencies. Technically, the situation, condition and potential of the village are analyzed and solutions are formulated collaboratively with the community. Finally, through this program students are expected to be able to work academically. It is not only a solution and effective for village problems, but also must be able to support the development of village potential.

Director of USU's Directorate of Educational Development, Dr. Muhammad Anggia Muchtar, ST, MMIT, emphasized that KKN made many positive contributions to students in forming superior characters. “KKN teaches values ​​and ways to socialize, communicate, interact, and able to become independent children in every way. The values ​​of mental revolution, work ethic, mutual cooperation, and integrity are instilled in all KKN participants, so that they can form the strong character of future generations of the Indonesian nation," he said. (©ULC)

Author: Renny Julia Harahap - Humas

Interviewee: - - -

Photographer: Irsan Mulyadi - Humas