Three students from the Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Universitas Indonesia (FIA UI) achieved an outstanding victory at the Brawijaya Student Conference, held from August 25 to October 20, 2023. Furaihan Kamyl Arnazaye, Adinda Puspita Ningrum, and Rizky Indrayanto secured first place by addressing the welfare of young fishermen in Indonesia, a country with vast maritime potential.

“Indonesia, with the second-longest coastline in the world, should have a level of welfare that matches its immense maritime resources. Unfortunately, the utilization of this potential remains far from optimal. This reality motivated our team to find solutions that link maritime wealth to the welfare of coastal communities,” said Furaihan.

Their research revealed a positive and significant correlation between social intervention, entrepreneurship, and experience on the welfare of fishermen. Based on these findings, they proposed a social empowerment program focused on experiential learning and entrepreneurship for young fishermen in Indonesia. The program, called PIPA Pesisir (Empowerment and Innovation Program for the Welfare and Entrepreneurial Action of Coastal Communities), aims to improve the livelihoods of coastal residents.

“PIPA Pesisir is a national periodic program that will be implemented in various coastal areas across Indonesia. It involves three key stakeholders under the triple helix collaboration model: the government, academia, and the private sector. Our analysis using the SMART model (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) shows that PIPA Pesisir meets these criteria and is ready for implementation,” Adinda explained.

The victory at the Brawijaya Student Conference reflects the FIA UI students’ commitment to improving the welfare of young fishermen through innovative programs. Their ideas were initially presented in the form of a scientific paper during the preliminary round. After advancing to the final round, the team delivered a presentation to the judges.

“We spent a week after being named finalists refining our presentation—not only making it visually appealing but also ensuring our paper’s substance was effectively conveyed. During the final presentation, we delivered our ideas clearly and answered the judges’ questions confidently. This achievement was the result of three months of preparation, including reading extensive materials and engaging in discussions,” Adinda said.

Rizky highlighted the positive challenges the team faced during the competition. The biggest hurdle was reconciling different perspectives into a unified vision. However, this challenge helped them understand the importance of active discussion and considering diverse viewpoints, which he described as a vital skill for any student.

“I believe the key factor behind our success was the academic support from FIA UI. The insights and contributions from our lecturers and senior students during the development of our paper played a significant role in helping us win this competition,” Rizky added.

The Brawijaya National Student Conference (Brawscon) 2023 is an academic competition organized by the Ministry of Research, Reasoning, and Innovation of the Universitas Brawijaya Student Executive Board (EM UB). The competition is open to D3, D4, and S1 students from universities across Indonesia, focusing on scientific writing. It aims to enhance students’ understanding of entrepreneurship policy to support Indonesia’s economic growth through research and scientific publications.

The competition consists of four stages: document submission, document review by the judges, the final presentation of the scientific paper, and a hybrid seminar held at Universitas Brawijaya.

“Our theme focused on young fishermen’s welfare through entrepreneurship as a means to improve living standards while respecting local cultural values. Through entrepreneurship, fishermen can become more prosperous, competitive, and self-sufficient. We hope that our work can contribute to improving the welfare of fishermen in Indonesia. True victory comes from overcoming laziness and striving for positive change,” Furaihan concluded.