UNESA-5 Magetan and the Bold Leap in Practitioner-Based Education: Instilling Global Competence through SDG Implementation

Magetan — November 2025

Amidst the fast-paced global competency shifts, one thing has become clear: higher education can no longer rely solely on classroom theory. The working world demands experience, practical depth, and real connections to the industry. It is here that Universitas Negeri Surabaya Campus 5 (UNESA-5) in Magetan takes a bold step onto the national stage.

On Friday, November 14, 2025, the English Literature Program at UNESA-5 hosted a captivating program titled "Praktisi Mengajar" (Practitioner Teaching), a learning scheme that brought in professional practitioners from various industrial sectors to teach directly in their own classrooms.

A Small Campus Moving with Big Ambitions

UNESA-5 Magetan might not be as large as the main campus in Surabaya, but on this day, its atmosphere was different—alive, dynamic, and full of energy. The English Literature Class of 2025 entered the classroom with high curiosity. They were not waiting for just any ordinary lecturer but someone who truly works at the heart of modern industries.

One of the highlighted courses was Essential Communication, designed not only to teach communication theory but also to give practical experience in building listening and speaking skills. The star of the day was Laili Muharra, an UNESA alumna, currently a manager at Crown Prince Hotel Surabaya, a renowned hotel that demands high-level professionalism in service and communication.

This initiative by the English Literature Program is not just a curriculum refresh. It is a symbol of the commitment that universities must become ecosystems that open doors and break down barriers between the campus and the industry.

Laili Muharra: From Magetan to the Hospitality Industry

When Laili began the lecture, the atmosphere instantly changed. With her professional yet warm demeanor, she began building connections with students—not as a lecturer, but as a role model who had once sat in their seats.

Laili taught more than just communication techniques. She took students deep into the world of the hospitality industry. She demonstrated how to handle guests with varying personalities, how to resolve conflicts elegantly, how to provide service with precision without losing the human touch, and how English becomes a primary tool in global interactions.

Students saw something that was once abstract become concrete: that the skills they learn in the classroom can be the key to unlocking career opportunities, transcending national and cultural boundaries.

Bringing SDGs to Life in Education

This program is not merely a curriculum innovation—it is a real-world implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 4 — Quality Education: The direct involvement of practitioners significantly enhances the quality of learning. Students practice real communication and critical listening, skills highly needed in the global workforce; SDG 5 — Gender Equality: Laili’s presence as a woman holding a strategic position in the hospitality industry provides concrete inspiration for students, especially female students, to believe that women can lead and excel in professional sectors; SDG 8 — Decent Work and Economic Growth: By providing insights into professional work standards, this program strengthens students’ job readiness and promotes the growth of competent human resources ready to enter the industry; SDG 10 — Reduced Inequalities: By bringing in practitioners from diverse backgrounds, the program offers students an equal opportunity to understand various career paths, regardless of their geographical, economic, or social origins.

UNESA-5 Magetan, through this initiative, demonstrates that the implementation of SDGs is not just a global concept but something that can come alive in the classroom, in the hands of students, and through the voice of a practitioner sharing their experience.

 

Learning Through Experience, Not Just Lectures

In the Essential Communication class, Laili’s teaching methods were far from conventional. She asked students to: Role-play as hotel staff; Respond to complaints from international guests; Create spontaneous conversations based on scenarios; Do listening drills from actual hospitality conversations; Practice intonation, gestures, and professional etiquette. Students were not only learning but experiencing the subject matter firsthand.

 

Student Voices: ‘This Is the Learning We’ve Been Waiting For’

For the class of 2025, this experience was seen as a breath of fresh air. Many of them expressed that: "It feels like we are learning directly from the real world."; "This is not just a lecture—this is an investment for our future."; "We now understand how communication competencies are applied in reality."

Praktisi Mengajar is not just strengthening knowledge, but also building students’ confidence in facing the global workforce.

 

Practitioner Teaching: A Revolutionary Approach to Education at UNESA-5

This program is part of the bigger strategy of the English Literature Program at UNESA-5 to: Align the curriculum with industry needs; Provide real-world experiences to students; Present professional figures as role models; Strengthen practical competencies that cannot always be taught by academic lecturers.

This initiative proves that regional campuses can also become pioneers of high-quality education through targeted strategies, strong industry collaborations, and a willingness to innovate.

 

A New Hope for a New Generation

This program is not the end but the beginning of a long journey. In the coming years, UNESA-5 aims to involve even more practitioners, foster more industry collaborations, and introduce more courses utilizing a practitioner-based approach. In an era when the boundaries between campus life and the professional world are increasingly blurred, UNESA-5’s initiative feels both relevant and visionary.

Behind all of this, one message echoed in that small classroom in Magetan:
"The best education is not the one that makes students smart—but the one that prepares them to face the world."