The Indonesian Minister of Agriculture (Mentan), Amran Sulaiman, encourages IPB University students to dare to learn from failure as a provision to build a resilient entrepreneurial mentality. This message was conveyed during a public lecture entitled “Building Entrepreneurship and Agribusiness in Strengthening National Food Security” at the Andi Hakim Nasution Auditorium, IPB Dramaga Campus, 6/11.
During the public lecture, Amran shared his life experiences as an entrepreneur before becoming a public official. He emphasized that success is not achieved merely by working behind a desk, but through struggle and direct experience in the field.
“To become a successful entrepreneur, it is not enough to just sit behind a desk, but one must dare to fight out in the open,” he said.
Amran highlighted the importance of learning from failure. According to him, failure is an inseparable part of the process of becoming a successful entrepreneur. He recounted several of his personal experiences, ranging from a failure when formulating rat poison that caused a house fire to a logistics business that once came to a complete halt due to technical constraints.
“Learning to fail is a process that must be gone through. It is from those failures that the mentality of an entrepreneur is formed,” he stated.
Therefore, Amran invited students to dare to step out of their comfort zones and not be afraid to face difficulties in their youth. According to him, challenges and sacrifices early in life are an important foundation for achieving success in the future.
In addition, Amran stressed that a leader must have high curiosity. He encouraged students not to merely fixate on conventional career paths, but also dare to develop business opportunities in the agribusiness sector to strengthen national food security.
Meanwhile, Rector Dr Alim Setiawan said that IPB University is striving to foster and maintain the entrepreneurial spirit of its students through various capacity building programs, such as CEO School, Startup School, and various bootcamp programs.
He stated that IPB University focuses on two main things, namely producing superior innovations and superior human resources. “The challenge is how that entrepreneurial spirit can continue to grow and persist until students graduate and become successful entrepreneurs,” he remarked.
On that occasion, Minister Amran also gave appreciation to students who have run businesses and produced innovations. He handed out rewards in the form of cash and tractors to several brave, creative, and innovative students.
The award was given to Ayesha Nashwa Raida Sulthoni and Chelsy Kayla Rosmerine who developed the Skin Acta innovation: a canna based Smart Skin Packaging with ZnO nanoparticles and a pH indicator from butterfly pea flowers to help extend product shelf life.
In addition, a tractor prize was given to Muslimun, a Master’s student in Soil Science at IPB University, who was assessed to have demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit and hard work. Since pursuing his undergraduate education, he worked as a cleaning service worker and is now actively farming while continuing his studies.
The public lecture served as a momentum for students to obtain inspiration regarding the importance of resilience, the courage to take risks, and the ability to learn from failure in building sustainable businesses while simultaneously contributing to national food security. (dh) (IAAS/EXC)
