Depok-Two students of the Vocational Education Program at the Universitas Indonesia had the opportunity to undergo an internship at Unipart Logistics, an international company in England engaged in international scale logistics. Taufiq Hidayat, student of the Accounting study program; and Rizky Fadillah Akbar, students of the Insurance and Actuarial Administration study program had the opportunity to do an internship at Unipart Logistics after previously passing the selection for the 2022 Vocational edition of the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMAVO) scholarship program at Coventry University, England.
In undergoing an internship program at Unipart Logistics, especially in the section that handles the fulfillment of raw materials for Jaguar Land Rover, a multinational automotive company from England, both of them were mentored by Prof. Benny Tjahjono from Coventry University, Professor of Sustainability and Supply Chain Management, Center for Business in Society (CBiS). CBiS is one of the leading research centers at Coventry University in collaboration with several leading companies in the UK, including Unipart Logistics. Through the CBiS program, Taufiq and Rizky were the first to have the opportunity to do an internship at Unipart Logistics.
Issues related to environmental preservation are currently a global concern. One of the efforts to preserve the environment is through sustainable packaging or packaging that can be recycled. At Unipart Logistics, Taufiq had the opportunity to contribute directly to a research project-based internship program that focuses on packaging sustainability development.
(Photo: Taufiq at Unipart Logistics)
He admits that this is an honor because the company is currently undergoing a massive transformation so that the system and packaging materials they use in business practices can be 100% environmentally friendly. These changes were not only made in order to save the earth from environmental damage, but were also driven by increased consumer awareness and demand, so that Unipart Logistics had to take steps to fulfill them immediately.
“The high awareness of environmental conservation issues that exist here, from the consumer to producer level, is exemplary for many countries, especially Indonesia, because this is a shared responsibility,” said Taufiq.
During the internship, Taufiq and the team carried out several activities such as analysis of market needs, field observations, interviews with the company, discussions with affiliated company partners in the project, data collection, data processing, presentation of research results, competitor market research and technology, to strategy formulation.
(Photo: Taufiq together with other students at Unipart Logistics)
“I hope that the outcome of the project we are working on can be useful for Unipart Logistics in achieving their company’s target, which is zero waste by implementing it in their packaging practices,” said Taufiq.
Unlike Taufiq, Rizky got a project that focused on developing Virtual Reality (VR) for training at the Unipart Logistics warehouse. In her project activities, Rizky is involved in a series of research activities on VR hardware, collects assets such as procedure videos for VR gameplay programming, and investigates health risks and also how to mitigate these risks.
(Photo: Explanation made by Rizky when explaining the VR Project she is running)
This VR Training was created based on the Covid-19 pandemic situation which had a major impact on human resources and increased risks during training. “Using VR will change the way we, both at Unipart and Jaguar Land Rover, train workers to a higher standard in a safe and immersive environment,” said Steve Goode, Line Manager of the Unipart Logistics internship project. Furthermore, Rizky will also have the opportunity to interact with the VR device and test the gameplay.
“We are helping Unipart Logistics as Quality Assurance in developing VR Training gameplay. It is done to ensure the quality and safety of the gameplay, so that it is better than conventional training,” said Rizky regarding her team’s duties.
(Photo: Rizky at Unipart Logistics)
Apart from gaining experience related to hard skills, Taufiq and Rizky also learned a lot about the soft skills that must be possessed when they enter the industry. Discipline, professionalism and work ethic at Unipart Logistics were positive provisions that Rizky and Taufiq received during their internship in England. They face challenges such as adapting to a culture, ethics and work environment that are quite different from those in Indonesia.
“I feel that the level of professionalism and awareness of Unipart Logistic employees to complete the job is very high. In addition, they also really appreciate our existence by always being open to holding discussion forums. We are also involved in various meetings and are welcome to present research results to our managers. We hope that the experience while studying at Coventry University and doing internships at Unipart Logistics can be valuable experiences that can spur our motivation to continue working, learning, and giving our best,” concluded Taufiq.
The Director of the UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, expressed his pride in the achievements of Taufiq and Rizky. “I appreciate all the achievements and activities carried out by Taufiq and Rizky. Both of them succeeded in proving that the whole series of learning that was carried out while studying at UI Vocational succeeded in preparing them to become globally competitive human beings. Hopefully what the two of them are currently going through can be an inspirational story for other students,” said Padang.
