HUMAS FAHUTAN – The Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU), conducted a two-day Student Creativity Program (PKM) Coaching activity on February 9–10, 2026, as a strategic step to prepare students to compete at the national PKM level.

On the first day, the activity was attended by PKM student participants and was joined by the Head of the Undergraduate Forestry Study Program, Dr. Ir. Tito Sucipto, S.Hut., M.Si., IPU., ASEAN Eng.; the Head of the PKM Corner of the USU Faculty of Forestry, Deanova Frestiana Br. Pelawi, S.Hut., M.Sc.; the Head of Student Affairs, Era Salida, S.Sos.; as well as Miduk Sitanggang, a student who had previously passed the selection and obtained PKM funding. This session focused on sharing experiences and open discussions on the dynamics of PKM implementation, including challenges commonly faced by students starting from the proposal preparation stage.

Miduk emphasized the importance of forming a solid and well-balanced PKM team. According to him, team member selection should be based on clear competencies and roles, rather than merely listing names without real contributions. This view was reinforced by the Head of the PKM Corner of Fahutan USU, who encouraged students to understand each other’s strengths so that teams can work effectively and sustainably.

Entering the second day, the activity became more comprehensive with the presence of the Dean of the Faculty of Forestry, USU, Prof. Dr. Rudi Hartono, S.Hut., M.Si., and the Vice Dean III of the Faculty of Forestry, USU, Prof. Dr. Ir. Agus Purwoko, S.Hut., M.Si. Both provided substantive reinforcement and strategic direction related to improving the quality of PKM proposals. Prof. Agus emphasized that PKM ideas should be able to transform something that was initially nothing into something meaningful, supported by strong data and visuals. He also suggested that students utilize field documentation, including photographs of raw materials or activity objects, to strengthen the proposal narrative.

Meanwhile, Prof. Rudi stressed the importance of discipline in following the official PKM guideline book. He reminded participants that no matter how good an idea may be, proposals must still be prepared in accordance with the prescribed format, structure, and provisions in order to be optimally assessed by reviewers.

This coaching activity not only served as a space to evaluate proposals that had been reviewed by the USU PKM Team, but also as a forum for collective learning. Discussions were active, complementary, and reflected the strong synergy among the speakers, each contributing their own competencies and perspectives. Through this activity, the Faculty of Forestry, USU, hopes that students will be able to produce PKM proposals that are more mature, realistic, and highly competitive.