DEPOK, Indonesia — Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) has strengthened its international academic collaboration with Universitas Negeri Jakarta (UNJ) through its participation in the Community Development EQUITY 2026 programme here.
The programme, organised by UNJ with the support of Indonesia’s Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP), was held at Aula Kelurahan Abadijaya, Kecamatan Sukmajaya, Kota Depok.
It carried the theme “Empowering Women Heads of Households through PEKKA Cerdas Berdaya to Improve Children’s Education Quality and Family Economic Resilience.”
UMS was represented by Faculty of Labuan International Finance (FKAL) dean Associate Professor Dr Geoffrey Harvey Tanakinjal, who was invited as an international speaker.
He delivered a lecture titled “Weaving Resilience: Financial Management and Micro-Entrepreneurship among Malaysian Housewives — Best Practices, Challenges and a Socioeconomic Wellbeing Action Framework.”
The session, moderated by UNJ’s Dr Muhammad Yusuf, shared Malaysia’s experience in empowering women through household financial management, financial literacy, micro-entrepreneurship and sustainable socioeconomic development.
In his presentation, Dr Geoffrey said women today were not only household managers but also financial managers and key drivers of family economic resilience.
He said strengthening financial literacy, the use of digital technology, access to micro-financing and collaboration involving universities, government agencies, financial institutions and communities were important in helping families face current economic challenges.
“Community empowerment will have a greater impact when universities, governments and communities work together in a collaborative ecosystem.
“Women are not only household managers, but also drivers of the family economy. By strengthening financial literacy, entrepreneurship and support networks, we can build more resilient families and a more prosperous ASEAN community,” he said.
The community development programme was led by UNJ Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences lecturer Dr Mimi Nur Hajizah, focusing on empowering women heads of households through the PEKKA Cerdas Berdaya approach.
The initiative aimed to improve children’s education quality while strengthening family economic resilience in Kota Depok.
The official invitation to Dr Geoffrey was extended by UNJ Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Information Systems Prof Dr Fahrurrozi as part of efforts to expand international academic cooperation and strengthen research and community engagement activities under the EQUITY programme.
Also present were Acting Abadijaya Village Head Suryadi and Abadijaya Community and Services Section head Putri Floura.
The EQUITY programme is one of UNJ’s strategic initiatives to enhance the quality of higher education, strengthen the university’s international impact and expand community engagement programmes.
The programme also supports the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 on No Poverty, SDG 4 on Quality Education, SDG 5 on Gender Equality, SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 17 on Partnerships for the Goals.
UMS said its participation in the programme further strengthened strategic ties between UMS and UNJ, while opening opportunities for future collaboration in joint research, lecturer and student mobility, knowledge transfer and ASEAN-level community development models.
