Inspired by Asta Cita, Lecturers and Students at Unisa Yogyakarta Digitize Villages

Inspired by the program of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, lecturer of the Information Technology Study Program at Universitas ‘Aisyiyah (Unisa) Yogyakarta, Sadr Lutfi Mufreni, S.Kom., M.Sc and three students developed an innovation for rural communities. This innovation is a tangible form of support for rural development.

Titled “Innovation in Website Creation and Management Services for Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) through the SiDesa Platform as a Solution for Village Digitalization,” this innovation has been approved for funding under the 2025 Student Entrepreneurship Development Program (P2MW) by the Directorate of Learning and Student Affairs, Directorate General of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia. In addition to Sadr, this innovation also involves three students from the Information Technology Program, namely Irsyad Winarko, Muhammad Salman Alfarisi, and Dian Gita Meilani. “This was inspired by President Prabowo’s vision for village economy (Asta Cita),” explained Sadr on Monday (July 21, 2025).

One of the Asta Cita principles is to build from the village and from the bottom up to achieve economic equality and eradicate poverty. This innovation, which promotes digitalization at the village level, is a tangible contribution from the academic community of Unisa Yogyakarta to empower rural communities.

Sadr stated that the SiDesa platform serves as a platform for marketing the goods and services of rural communities. This is not without reason, as SiDesa also addresses the issue where BUMDes and their products already exist, but unfortunately have not been marketed effectively. “This is to assist in marketing the goods and services of BUMDes,” said Sadr.

Long-term development for the SiDesa platform has also been considered by Sadr and his team. It is hoped that with future development, the positive impact felt by rural communities will be even greater. “In the future, we aim to become a unicorn startup in rural digital development. Yes, with a subscription model,” said Sadr.

Sadr mentioned that this idea was also initiated by students. The involvement of the younger generation in this endeavor is a crucial component. He also motivated other students to continue developing themselves. “You’re still young, so let’s explore,” Sadr encouraged.

Sadr also commended P2MW for potentially fostering the emergence of technopreneurs. Personally, this achievement reflects the success of collaboration between faculty and students. “This signifies that the efforts, ideas, and hard work undertaken have received tangible recognition, opening opportunities for further development,” Sadr stated.

Sadr noted that as part of Unisa Yogyakarta, the success in securing the P2MW grant has a positive impact. This demonstrates that Unisa Yogyakarta has the capability to produce students who not only excel academically but also can apply their knowledge to create business opportunities.