ULM Community Service Program in Tebing Tinggi: Students, Residents, and Traditions Unite in an Empowerment Movement
BALANGAN – Sixty students from the Sociology Study Program, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) at ULM completed their community service through Community Service Programs (KKN) in five villages in Tebing Tinggi District, Balangan Regency, South Kalimantan, on Thursday (September 11, 2025).
The Coordinator of the ULM Sociology Study Program, Drs. H. Setia Budhi, M.Si, Ph.D., stated that the KKN was designed with a collaborative approach. Students, along with village officials and residents, developed a work program based on deliberation to ensure it truly met the community’s needs.
“We hope that the students will not stop at the planning stage but will continue to support the program until it is completed and provides tangible benefits,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Head of Tebing Tinggi District, Mulidiah, expressed her appreciation for the ULM students’ contribution to this program. According to him, the Community Service Program (KKN) not only trains social awareness, leadership, and cooperation, but also provides direct benefits to the village.
“The work program designed by the students has been very helpful to the community. The two months of KKN implementation have been a valuable experience and have had a positive impact,” he said.
The Head of the Ajung Village KKN, Siti Hanifah Bahari, also expressed her hope that the students’ contributions will continue.
“We hope that what we have done can be continued by the village community, while preserving existing traditional values,” she said.
To conclude the activity, a plaque was presented to village officials by the Coordinator of the Sociology Study Program and the KKN coordinator. An implementation agreement was also signed as a form of ongoing cooperation between ULM and partner villages.
This activity emphasized ULM’s role in supporting village development through education and community empowerment. With the synergy between students, village officials, and residents, the KKN in Tebing Tinggi serves as concrete evidence that higher education can make a direct contribution to regional progress.
