Singaraja –The Covid-19 pandemic has changed many world structures of life, and Indonesia is no exception. The new post-pandemic order of life has undergone changes starting from the economic, cultural, social, and societal aspects to the education system. The PERMATA-SAKTI Program (Country Student Exchange Credit Transfer System with Information Technology) which usually gives students the opportunity to sit in at the destination college, is now fully online. However, this does not necessarily reduce the essence of the PERMATA program launched by the Ministry of Education and Culture as an implementation of the implementation of Merdeka Learning, Merdeka Campus. This can be seen from the enthusiasm of the 57 Undiksha students participating in the PERMATA-SAKTI Program who are spread across 23 destination tertiary institutions.
In implementing this program, Undiksha students experience the implementation of Merdeka Learning, where students not only have the opportunity to gain knowledge outside the study program but also experience learning at different universities throughout Indonesia. In fact, on this occasion, students are allowed to take courses outside their study program.
As stated by Luh Intan Purnama Dewi who said that the PERMATA-SAKTI Program can add new experiences to experiencing studying at other universities. “Apart from meeting new friends from various universities in Indonesia, I experienced a new lecture situation, moreover being taught by lecturers from outside Undiksha. Besides that, we can also share information related to the learning system with other participants,” said the student of the Law Study Program.
The same thing was also expressed by Nadia Aurelia Tasya Putu who took the PERMATA-SAKTI Program at the University of Lampung and Singaperbangsa University, Karawang. He revealed that many things were obtained through the PERMATA-SAKTI Program. “Apart from adding new experiences by studying at other campuses in Indonesia, I also study culture at the destination campus area through cultural performance activity sessions,” she said on Tuesday (1/12/2020).
However, the obstacles faced by all PERMATA-SAKTI 2020 students were felt by almost all participants, namely the problem of a poor internet network. As stated by the participants, several learning sessions had to be canceled due to internet network constraints experienced by students and even the lecturers themselves.
Nadia revealed that, with the obstacles faced by students, they always try to find solutions together to be able to follow or do assignments online. “Thankfully the lecturers also understand when we experience network problems. We also try our best so that we can continue to attend lectures and submit assignments on time, “she said.
Asked about the hope for the continuation of this program, Nadia and Intan agreed on the continuation of this program. “Hopefully this pandemic will end soon so that participants can attend face-to-face lectures at the destination university. And I hope that PERMATA-SAKTI can continue and become a program that can motivate students to continue to seek knowledge, both in their field and in other fields of knowledge,” concluded Intan. (adm)
