Opening Village Heads Go to Campus Batch III at Unsri, Deputy Minister Bima Arya: Village Heads Need Vision, Commitment and Priorities

PALEMBANG — Deputy Home Affairs Minister Bima Arya Sugiarto has urged village heads to build leadership that is impactful, innovative and focused on residents’ needs. He delivered the message while opening the third batch of the Village Heads Go to Campus (Kepala Desa Masuk Kampus, KDMK) program at Graha Sriwijaya, Sriwijaya University (Unsri), Palembang, South Sumatra, on Wednesday, 4 November 2026.

The program, running from 3 to 6 November 2026, is attended by 255 selected village heads from regencies and cities across South Sumatra.

Three Keys: Vision, Commitment, Priorities

According to Bima, vision gives leadership its direction, commitment determines the values and interests being fought for, and priorities are needed because not every goal can be achieved at once. “You have to choose your priorities. If you dream of 20 programs, you can’t possibly run all 20. Ten is already good; five is top if they all work,” he said, as quoted by JPNN.

He added that village heads need to be able to read and analyze data, set realistic priorities and collaborate well. Bima warned them not to get stuck in ceremonies and bureaucratic routine. “Village budgets must prioritize public services and concrete development programs that match community needs,” he stressed.

Bima also highlighted collaboration between villages and universities, saying both can learn from each other by exchanging academic knowledge and field experience. He hopes participants return home determined to bring change and become the best village heads in South Sumatra.

What Is KDMK?

The Home Affairs Ministry’s Director General for Village Government Development, Bernhard Eduard Rondonuwu, explained that KDMK is designed to strengthen village heads’ skills in village governance, digital transformation, public leadership, service innovation, managing village potential, economic empowerment and evidence-based policymaking.

“This program also gives village heads room to build partnerships with universities, practitioners and fellow village heads from different regions,” Bernhard said. KDMK is one of the directorate general’s tools for building impactful village governments and accelerating the rollout of Smart Villages.

Participants study topics including:

• Mapping and validating village economic potential;
• Setting development priorities;
• Innovation using design thinking;
• Applying the circular economy;
• Digital village administration;
• Drafting village innovation implementation plans.

Through the program, village heads are expected to turn what they learn into well-targeted, sustainable innovations and development programs that bring real benefits to residents.

Summarized from detikNews, SINDOnews and JPNN (in Indonesian).