UNAIR NEWS – Export is a crucial subject to understand when building a business aimed at the international market. To address this, the Entrepreneurship Club (UKM Kewirausahaan) at Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) organized a series of educational activities called Go World Export. The event took place on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) at Pelindo Surabaya, in collaboration with Tanjung Perak Customs.
Devi Evriliana, Head of UKM Kewirausahaan UNAIR, expressed appreciation to Pelindo and Customs for the collaboration opportunity. She hoped the knowledge and insights participants gained from the visit would spark new inspiration and provide real benefits.
“This activity can serve as a learning opportunity for student entrepreneurs at UNAIR, particularly in developing business potential and breaking into the export market,” she said.
Nurturing globally competitive young entrepreneurs
Salsabila Lailatul Fitriya, the person in charge at Go World Export, explained that the export trip to Pelindo Surabaya was part of the club’s commitment to providing field-based learning experiences.
Through the series of activities, students did not only receive classroom theory, but also saw firsthand how port logistics and customs procedures work, preparing them to bring local products into competitive global markets.
“We hope this activity can continue in the next period of leadership, since we’ve seen how it provides real, hands-on education about how things work in the field,” she said.
The role of customs and the dynamics of global trade
During the visit, participants also learned about the key roles of Customs, from trade facilitator to community protector and revenue collector. Bintang, a Customs Public Relations representative, explained the importance of applying risk management to balance faster goods clearance with strict customs oversight at ports. “Understanding customs zones and export-import procedures is the main focus in preparing young, prospective exporters,” he explained.
Responding to widespread misinformation and stigma around goods inspection, Bintang stressed the importance of understanding regulations in full. He hoped the visit would help position students as informed and reliable sources of information within their communities. “Not knowing Customs means not understanding us, when in fact our core function is to protect domestic industries and facilitate trade,” he added.
Bintang also outlined several scam schemes that misuse the Customs name, including detained imported goods, cut-rate auctions of seized items, and individuals being detained. In the detained goods scheme, scammers typically claim to have sent high-value goods that ran into customs issues, then pressure victims to transfer money to a personal bank account.
“So the public should not fall for these tricks easily, because legitimate customs payments always use official billing codes and are never transferred to a personal bank account,” he said.
Author: Putri Andini
Editor: Yulia Rohmawati
