KKN, Empathy, and the Real Impact of Students in Society

Amid the rapid flow of technological developments, including artificial intelligence (AI), spaces for humanity are rediscovering their relevance. In the field of community service, students are reminded that their presence is not merely about bringing knowledge, but also delivering empathy—something that machines cannot replace.

This message was conveyed by the Rector of Nusa Cendana University in Kupang, Prof. Jefri S. Bale, to students currently undertaking Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) in East Nusa Tenggara. He emphasised that no matter how advanced the technology, it still has limits when confronting human social realities.

“AI lacks empathy; it cannot shed tears upon seeing a malnourished toddler,” he stated.

For Jefri, the presence of students in the midst of society is not just an academic formality, but an opportunity to bring a human touch. In regions like NTT, development issues require not only data and digital innovation, but also social sensitivity born from direct interactions with residents.

He reminded students not to get trapped in rigid technocratic approaches. Instead, they need to build warm and humanistic communication so that the programmes implemented truly address community needs.

Students, he said, must listen more, learn from local wisdom, and bridge academic knowledge with everyday life realities. In this way, they become not only knowledge-based agents of change, but also representations of humanistic values in development.

A similar spirit of service is evident in Central Sulawesi. UIN Datokarama Palu has deployed around 300 students in a Thematic KKN programme on Land Affairs targeting concrete community issues, namely the certification of waqf land.

The Head of the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) at UIN Datokarama Palu, Sahran Raden, explained that students are tasked with identifying around 800 plots of waqf land that lack certificates.

These lands include important community assets such as madrasahs, places of worship, and public cemeteries. Most are located in Palu City, which to date lack legal certainty of ownership.

Through collaboration with the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency, this programme forms part of the acceleration of land certification via the Complete Systematic Land Registration (PTSL) scheme.

Students are not merely present symbolically, but are directly involved in the technical processes in the field, from data validation and mapping to socialisation with the community on the importance of land legality.