Politap and IAR Promote Higher Education Access for Outermost Communities

On Monday, 23 May 2022, at the International Animal Rescue (IAR) office located   in Sungai Awan Kiri Village, Muara Pawan District, Ketapang, an evaluation of the partnership between Politeknik Negeri Ketapang (Ketapang State Polytechnic) and IAR was conducted. Present at the meeting were the Director of Politap, the Politap cooperation team, the Executive Director, and the IAR team.

The partnership evaluation covered several strategic issues, including increasing access to higher education for communities in outermost regions, improving students' soft skills, implementing Kampus Merdeka, and community empowerment. This activity is part of Politap's efforts to develop village-level vocational education through access villages, partner villages, and tourism villages.

In his presentation, the Director of Politap conveyed that Politap provides the widest possible opportunity for prospective students from outermost areas to pursue education at Politap with scholarships, improvement of soft skills and hard skills, an educational process emphasizing project based learning,  and opportunities for internships abroad. Meanwhile, community empowerment programs are implemented through the development of one village one product (OVOP).  

IAR Indonesia Community Development Manager Wendi stated that his team would enhance monitoring and evaluation regarding the impact of scholarships awarded to students, as well as improve the quality of mentoring for scholarship recipients, particularly in communication skills, leadership, teamwork, and initiative.

Several key points to accelerate project outputs and outcomes will be incorporated into an addendum to the memorandum of understanding and the implementation of a Cooperation Agreement to ensure the partnership becomes even more effective.