Indonesia
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On Monday, 9 November 2020, the Director of Politeknik Negeri Ketapang (Ketapang State Polytechnic) and the Head of the Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency (PUTR) signed a Joint Commitment to enhance the quality of human resources in the road and bridge construction sector through collaborations in internships, Problem Based Learning, practical training, final project writing, research, and the implementation of industry lecturers and practitioners. Politap Director Endang Kusmana stated that Politap's visit to the PUTR Agency served to reinforce existing collaborations aimed at improving cooperation among higher education institutions, local government, and industry. According to him, the triple helix innovation model—which refers to a series of interactions among academia, industry, and the government—can foster better economic and social development, particularly for infrastructure construction.
Head of the PUTR Agency Sukirno stated that the role of higher education (academia) in strengthening infrastructure development is vital for exploring new innovations to improve development quality. He welcomed the ongoing communication maintained through signing joint commitments for each initiative so that the quality of every activity can be measured more effectively. For infrastructure development, particularly road and bridge construction, his agency is always prepared to collaborate in supporting the development of Ketapang's human resources through student internships, the application of Problem Based Learning, practical work, final project supervision, research, the empowerment of PUTR experts as industry lecturers at Politap, and the involvement of Politap lecturers as practitioners at PUTR.
Meanwhile, Head of the Civil Engineering Laboratory Hurul Ain stated that the series of Joint Commitment signings with both local government and industry represent ongoing efforts by the Road and Bridge Construction Engineering Technology Applied Bachelor's Study Program to continuously develop through collaboration between industry, local government, and academia. One outcome already realized is the involvement of several lecturers as practitioner lecturers in local industries across Ketapang. Among Politap's partners is PT Dua Sinar Ketapang Abadi (PT DSKA), where Hurul Ain and Alan Purtanto serve as experts tasked with concrete mix design, material quality control, and field quality control for all projects executed by the company, with Politap students also directly involved in these activities.
Separately, Politap Study Program Coordinator for Road and Bridge Construction Engineering Technology Julyan Purnomo stated that to strengthen the triple helix, his program had conducted a working visit to the West Kalimantan Province PUPR Directorate, Directorate General of Highways, National Road Implementation Agency Pontianak P2JN Work Unit regarding student internship plans and the implementation of Problem Based Learning in road and bridge construction projects carried out by West Kalimantan Province PUPR.