UNAIR NEWS- Indonesian Vocational Professional Lecturer Association (APDOVI) is an organization of individual vocational lecturer from various vocational colleges, both national and private colleges. This organization was established on June 17, 2020, and was declared by its founding members on June 19, 2020. This organization is also registered in the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights with a certificate of establishment number: AHU-0000445.01.07. TAHUN 2021.
In its structural organization, APDOVI is chaired by Prof. Dr. Ir. Sigit Pranowo Hadiwardoyo, DEA from Universitas Indonesia, and its vice-chair is Prof. Dr. Retna Apsari, M. Si from Univesritas Airlangga. APDOVI is a vessel for vocational lecturers to hone their skill, develop themselves, and improve their competence to prepare their students as excellent, creative and innovative human resources in collaborating and partnering with the world of business and industry.
One of APDOVI’s mandates in its Memorandum and Article of Association (AD/ART) is holding an annual national work meeting (Rakernas) to evaluate its previous working programs and plan its next working programs. Its first annual national work meeting was held June 19, 2021, online with a theme of “Building Vocational Lecturer Profile to Strengthen Indonesia’s Vocational Studies”. The national work meeting was attended by APDOVI’s supervisor, management, and members from nine compartments.
In this annual national work meeting, APDOVI presented competent guest speakers from the government, as a policy maker, and the element of BUMN. APDOVI also presented guest speakers from business and industrial world (DUDI) practitioners. As a keynote speaker for this year’s annual work meeting, APDOVI presented the Director-General of Vocational Education from the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Wikan Sakarinto, ST., M.Sc., Ph.D.
The director-general conveyed his appreciation on the existence of APDOVI and for holding of the first work meeting. Furthermore, he also emphasized that link and match between the vocational education with DUDI has to be implemented for real, wider, in a more creative and innovative manner so vocational students have a strong soft skills capability (soft competences, leadership skills, and character development), an open mindset, and have the character of an independent lifelong learner.
Thus, the importance of vocational lecturer profile preparation that are ready to build the nation, to build vocational education for today and the future, and also have the ability to create an alternative and able to collaborate with stakeholders, DUDI’s community, entrepreneurship, and the local governments. However, the availability aspect of lab equipment and other facilities must be adjusted to the development of technological science, so technical skills and hard skills may be well developed.
The existence of comprehensive and integrative link and match, with the ‘Start from the End’ concept, between vocational education and DUDI proved that vocational education has a strategic role in creating a superior and qualified human resource. The director-general also said that the concept provides DUDI with an opportunity to penetrate the educational world by creating a driving aspect in terms of curriculum material and learning experiences, so since the beginning of the learning experiences, the academic world has been driven positively by DUDI.
“Even though the global community, including Indonesia, has been impacted by Covid-19 pandemic, we cannot lose, we have to keep our optimistic nature, we have to survive, to keep creating innovation in education to avoid learning loss in today’s generation,” concluded the director general.
