One of the focuses of the Master’s program in Social and Political Sciences at UGM is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Of course, CSR management is currently developing rapidly and requires human resources with the necessary competencies to manage it, one of which is through Community Development Officers (CDOs). Ken Retno Budipratiwi, commonly known as Ken, is a PSdK Master’s alumnus who currently works as a CDO in one of the upstream oil and gas industries in Tarakan City, North Kalimantan.
According to her, working as a CDO is not as easy as one might imagine. Communication skills, sensitivity in reading social phenomena, and a good background in CSR program management are some of the things that a CDO must have. This is because the daily work of a CDO will largely involve managing corporate social responsibility or CSR programs, from planning and implementation to monitoring and evaluation. CSR, which is closely related to external actors of the company, is another task of the CDO to ensure good partnership relations with various parties. In addition to community relations, Ken is also often tasked with preparing materials for academic publications at the international and national levels, as well as national assessment events such as PROPER and the Indonesia CSR Awards.

During college, he found that the assignments given by his lecturers were very helpful in his daily work, especially when he was given the mandate to prepare materials for academic publications such as national and international conferences. From the beginning of college, Ken was very interested in the topic of CSR, so he believes that extracurricular activities such as being a research assistant for social mapping or a PROPER document assessor greatly supported his current career.

The process of completing his final project was a stage of his studies that he will never forget. Conducting research in Kediri, which was very far from where he lived, was a challenge in itself. However, it was all worth it when he officially received his Master of Arts (M.A.) degree and began a career in line with his interests during college.
Ken advised students who are currently still struggling to complete their studies that, in his opinion, the ability to communicate well is an essential skill that everyone must have today, especially PSDK students who will definitely be interacting with the community from their studies to their future careers.

“Establishing communication and maintaining good relationships. This includes research skills such as social mapping, Community Satisfaction Index (IKM), and so on. So research isn’t just for thesis purposes. It really becomes evident once you’ve done it several times, or even become accustomed to research, as you become more sensitive to social issues around you and think more critically,” concluded Ken.

Author: M. Farid Budiono
Proofreader: Nanda Widyasari