Activities

After going through a selection process by DESMA Center and industry representatives, 6 (six) productive teachers from 2 assisted SMKs namely SMKN 2 Tambolaka City and SMKS Pancasila Tambolaka, participated in the teacher internship program in the tourism industry in Bali for 1 (one) month.

Three teachers from SMKS Pancasila Tambolaka conducted an internship program at Melali MICE Denpasar, and 3 (three) teachers from SMKN 2 Tambolaka conducted an internship program at Bali Dynasty Resort Kuta.

The opening of the teacher internship program was held on 5 July 2021 at Bali Dynasty Resort and closed on 2 August 2021 in a hybrid manner at the Melali MICE office. Both Bali Dynasty Resort and Melali MICE hope that similar program will continue in the future to build human resources.

At the end of the program, all productive teachers prepare a final project and make a presentation to the management of the industry where they are doing their internship as well as staff and other teachers.

After completing the teacher internship program, the teachers were able to analyse the suitability and differences between the curriculum, teaching materials, and theories at school and in the industry. Then, they are able to provide solutions related to industry and school gaps, namely updating teaching materials, teaching methods, and projects with students related to skills according to industry needs.

The level of confidence of the teachers also seemed to increase based on DESMA Center's observation when they gave the final presentation at the closing of the teacher internship activities, and were able to explain the work process according to industry needs. The intern teachers are expected to apply the hard and soft skills acquired during the internship to be implemented in the teaching and learning process.

All productive teachers received internship certificates from the industry. SMKN 2 Tambolaka City also received some housekeeping equipment from Bali Dynasty Resort to be used as practical tools at school.

The coordinator of DUDI Partners, Mr. Saryadi, ST, MBA, Directorate General of Vocational Studies, Ministry of Education and Culture at the closing of the teacher internship program mentioned that this program is in alignment with the national government policy and hopes that it will not only be carried out in 2 SMKs, but also other SMKs can receive the same benefits.

Mrs Lucia Susantari from Bali Dynasty Resort said that it is important to involve industry in curriculum development to close the gap between what is taught in schools and the needs of industry.

"The existence of a programme like this is very good. Our hope from Bali Dynasty Resort is that this program can continue, not just stop here. We hope there are other programs, which in essence are developing human resources in Sumba through education."

A similar hope was also expressed by the Managing Director, Melali MICE Bali, Mr. Dr. Ketut Jaman, who during the programme invited internship teachers to participate in making a sustainable tourism Grand Design in Sumba.

Mr Aleks Rangga Pija, S.H., M.Pd., Head of SMKS Pancasila Tambolaka highly appreciates the teacher internship program which has never been done by the school before. This project has helped improve the capacity of school management and productive teachers so that he is optimistic that SMKS Pancasila will be able to become LSP P1 in 2022.

The teacher internship in Bali is part of the Capacity Building of the assisted Tourism Vocational Schools as Preparation for LSP P1, in the Tourism TVET Ecosystem Strengthening project in Southwest Sumba implemented by DESMA Center. 

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The "DESMA Pandai - Strengthening the Tourism TVET Ecosystem in Southwest Sumba" programme, implemented by DESMA Center, is a collaborative project funded by the William & Lily Foundation and the Adaro Foundation. This collaboration is carried out to support the government, educational institutions, tourism industry and communities in Southwest Sumba in preparing quality human resources and ready to contribute to sustainable tourism development.

The programme lasts for 2 (two) years from August 2020 to July 2022. The direct beneficiaries are SMKS Pancasila Tambolaka and SMKN 2 Tambolaka, Southwest Sumba Regency. Project activities include:

(1) Strengthening advocacy to provincial and district governments; (2) Increasing the capacity of tourism vocational schools to prepare to meet the requirements towards LSP P1; and (3) Strengthening the linkages and networks of tourism vocational schools with related tourism industries. 

This project partners with the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Office of Education and Culture, Korwas SMA/SMK/PLB of Southwest Sumba Regency, Southwest Sumba Regency Government, Southwest Sumba Regency Tourism Office, as well as 2 (two) model SMKs namely SMKN 1 Kupang and SMKN 3 Denpasar which are involved in a sister school programme with SMKS Pancasila and SMKN 2 Tambolaka.

The project also received support from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.