EduAsiaNews, Surabaya – Students from Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) have achieved national recognition by securing a Top Four finish in the Genera-Z Berbakti 2026 program, a community engagement competition organized by Bakti BCA. The competition challenges participants to develop and implement innovative ideas for the sustainable development of BCA-assisted tourism villages.
The award-winning team, Amerta Pertiwi, consists of Usamah (Faculty of Science and Technology, Class of 2024), Muhammad Adib (Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Natural Sciences – Banyuwangi Campus, Class of 2023), and Regina Saraswati (FIKKIA, Class of 2024). Reaching the final four required the team not only to present their proposal but also to implement their innovation framework in Patak Banteng Tourism Village, Wonosobo, where it was evaluated alongside projects from four other universities.
Three Pillars of the Amerta Pertiwi Program
The team’s initiative was developed in response to several pressing challenges faced by Patak Banteng Village.
“Patak Banteng is a tourism village with a rapidly growing local economy because it serves as the main gateway for climbers heading to Mount Prau. However, the community continues to face critical challenges, including waste management, a high prevalence of stunting due to inadequate parenting practices, frequent power outages, and agricultural problems caused by plant viruses that have damaged local crops,” explained Usamah, the team’s leader.
To address these issues, Amerta Pertiwi introduced three integrated flagship programs:
Rumah Inovasi (Innovation House), focusing on stunting prevention and the empowerment of women’s health volunteers known as Srikandi;
Rumah Kompos (Compost House), which promotes waste segregation, composting, and environmental revitalization; and
Rumah Bibit (Seedling House), dedicated to agro-tourism development and the advancement of a Pico-Hydropower Plant (PLTPH) to support sustainable energy.
To implement these initiatives, the team collaborated with a range of local stakeholders. They partnered with the Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis) and local Rangers, community members actively engaged in environmental conservation and agro-tourism development. In the health sector, they worked closely with community health volunteers (posyandu cadres), while environmental initiatives were carried out in collaboration with the village government and local operational teams.
Challenges That Inspired Growth
Usamah recalled that the competition was both demanding and emotionally challenging.
“Throughout the competition, we were also being filmed. Every stage of the journey was documented to create an inspiring story for others. That’s why many videos have recently circulated showing us under pressure and even in tears on stage,” he said.
Through the program, the team hopes their initiatives can be fully implemented while paving the way for greater recognition of UNAIR in future editions of the Genera-Z Berbakti competition. They also expressed optimism that future UNAIR teams will continue building upon their achievements.
“Community service begins with improving ourselves before serving others. The most important thing is that we must continue learning wherever we are,” Usamah concluded.
