Universitas Brawijaya deploys students to develop dozens of villages in East Java

Universitas Brawijaya (UB) has deployed more than a thousand students to develop 76 villages across eight regencies in East Java. The students are participating in the 2026 Mahasiswa Membangun Desa (MMD) programme, which is packaged with a sustainable living laboratory concept, covering the regencies of Malang, Blitar, Kediri, Lamongan, Trenggalek, Ngawi, Bojonegoro, and Banyuwangi. UB Rector Prof Widodo stated that the living laboratory concept is the main focus of MMD, as it allows villages to develop through continuous mentoring and ensures that student community service programmes do not stop after their assignment ends, creating a real impact for the community. The MMD is a routine annual activity aimed at establishing a living laboratory within the community so that service programmes can run sustainably and impact literacy, the environment, and the economy. During the one-month programme, students will not only provide appropriate technology, productive plant seeds, and other supporting facilities but also offer mentoring through knowledge transfer and human resource capacity strengthening. To ease the adaptation process, UB attempts to place students in regencies matching their areas of origin. The Rector noted that the MMD 2026 targets the creation of more than 100 appropriate technology products relevant to village needs, alongside fostering the growth of MSMEs. The programme, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas) and the National Library in four regencies, also focuses on literacy, poverty alleviation, and sustainable environmental management. It is expected to produce 38 scientific articles and over 500 mass media publications.