UNAIR NEWS – Representatives from 8 state universities in East Java met Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa on Friday, November 22, 2022. Conducted in Grahadi Building, the meeting was held to discuss the ‘Brantas Tuntas’ collaborative Community Service Program (KKN).
The forum was attended by representatives from state universities in East Java and related offices, such as the Environmental Office, the National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure of East Java (BNPB), the Agriculture Office, the Forestry Office, the Health Office, the Education Office, and Jasa Tirta Coordinator
The eight state universities collaborating in the Brantas Tuntas KKN program include UNAIR, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), IAIN Madura, State University of Surabaya (UNESA), Universitas Brawijaya (UB), UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, UIN Sunan Ampel (UINSA), and University of Pembangunan Nasional Veteran (UPN) which are members of East Java University Association.
Governor Khafifah stated that the water quality became a huge task for East Java, which ranked second nationwide after DKI Jakarta. She expected that the Collaborative KKN will provide solutions to the water problem in East Java.
Khofifah also hoped that there will be river tourism that connects Surabaya, Gresik, and Mojokerto. “A river tourism which connects Surabaya, Gresik, and Mojokerto has enormous potential. It will allow us to create a new triangle because there is the ‘361 disadvantaged villages’ homework in East Java that needs to be solved,” she said.
The coordinator of the Collaborative KKN of East Java University Association stated that “Brantas Tuntas” is a collaborative KKN that will be carried out throughout the year. The team is ready to collaborate in solving various problems in East Java.
Apart from the student learning process, the Collaborative KKN aims to help increase the community capacity in East Java. “Basically, it’s just the same with the previous KKN. The main purposes are to learn and help increase the community capacity in East Java, including actualizing the Tri Dharma of Higher Education.”
“Through Collaborative KKN, we synergize to identify the problem, providing inputs on solving the problems in East Java, and to produce advanced research materials to be developed on their respective campuses. In the future, we can create applicable and utilized research. Synergizing with the regional and the provincial governments to take part in the development in East Java,” he added.
Eko added that the purpose was more than fixing and cleaning the Brantas river, instead, it is a ‘Brantas Tuntas’ [complete Brantas]. The concept of ‘Brantas Tuntas not only improves the river condition but also empowers the community around Brantas, educating a healthy life and the way the community can explore the productive values of the river, such as water, economics, etc.
Suko Widodo as the liaison between the government officials and universities said that the collaborative KKN “Brantas Completes” was the real answer to East Java’s needs.
“It’s a new way of collaboration with the real result. Collaborative KKN, as a contribution from the universities, should be supported by all parties as an environmental movement,” said Suko Widodo.
Author: Binti Q. Masruroh
