Muhammadiyah University of North Sumatra (UMSU) and the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of North Sumatra have agreed to continue the cooperation that has been established over the past five years.
The discussion regarding the continuation of this collaboration took place in a meeting between the Head of BPS Sumut, Asim Saputra, the Rector of UMSU, Prof. Dr. Agussani, MAP, represented by the Vice Rector III, Dr. Rudianto, M.Si, on Monday (10/3) in the UMSU Campus Meeting Room, Jalan Muchtar Basri No.3, Medan.
The Head of BPS North Sumatra, Asim Saputra, emphasized the importance of this collaboration in optimizing the role of BPS North Sumatra in regional development.
“We strongly agree that the cooperation between BPS Sumut and UMSU must continue.” The campus plays a role as an accelerator and driver to make development even more optimal,” said Asim.
Asim also highlighted the BPS Sumut program, one of which focuses on data integration for better development.
“We carry the concept of single data integration and apply data principles in development.” If done alone, of course, this challenge becomes even greater, so BPS wants to collaborate with universities to accelerate the production of more accurate data,” he explained.
He also highlighted the condition of data in the villages, which is still largely outdated. “We continue to encourage every village in North Sumatra to become a ‘Beautiful Village’ with always updated data.” Therefore, we want to involve students in educating the community about the importance of accurate and up-to-date data,” he continued.
BPS Sumut also mentioned that students are needed who can be trained and become data agents, so that these students can help socialize data literacy among village officials, leading to the establishment of a unified data system.
In addition, Asim hopes that the existing statistics corner at UMSU campus can become more vibrant and serve as a platform for both students and academics. The goal is to better understand and analyze data in depth.
“We hope for strong support from UMSU to provide data literacy to village officials,” he hoped.
Previously, Vice Rector III, Dr. Rudianto expressed appreciation for the cooperation that has been established with BPS Sumut and hopes that this collaboration can continue to develop.
“We are very pleased to have established a long-standing collaboration with BPS that continues to this day.” We feel it is important to continue interacting with BPS. Especially now that UMSU is entering its third strategic plan, research and innovation,” he said.
Furthermore, Dr. Rudianto is open to the statistical agent program involving students, and he hopes that future collaborative programs can involve lecturers more in the collection and analysis of accurate and complete data.
“In the future, we hope to collaborate more deeply, especially since UMSU is currently in the fourth stage of its strategic plan, which focuses on innovation and research,” he added.
On this occasion, the Head of BPS Sumut and his team visited the facilities and broadcasts at UMSU radio. With the continuation of this cooperation, it is hoped that UMSU and BPS Sumut can further strengthen their synergy in providing accurate data and promoting development based on valid information in North Sumatra.
Also present were the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) Dr. H. Januri, SE., MM., M.Si., CMA, Chairperson of the OIC UMSU, Rafieqah Nalar Rizky, S.Sos., M.A, Chairperson of the MBKM UMSU, Abdurrahman Zuhdi, S.I.Kom., M.I.Kom, Chairperson of the CDAC UMSU Sukma Lesmana, S.E., M.Si., Ph.D along with units and institutions at UMSU.
