The Economics Student Conference (ESC) is an annual routine event held by the Economic Development Program of Parahyangan Catholic University (Unpar). The goal is to build an academic culture within the Economic Development Study Program. This activity becomes part of the learning practice that students must take. Students are encouraged to experience the learning process directly as well as presenting and maintaining arguments within the forum that are not limited to the classroom environment.
The themes raised at each conference are diverse, such as the theme of the ASEAN Economic Community (MEA) with a number of other topics such as infrastructure development, maritime sector, agriculture, transportation and energy. There is also a theme on the Policy and Economic Issues of Indonesia which became the theme of ESC in 2017.
Background
The first ESC was held in the academic year 2013/2014. This activity was prompted by the importance of improving the quality of learning evaluation in the Economic Development Study Program and the need of students to experience the real process in their direct dissemination of scientific papers.
ESC has become a scientific forum for students of Economic Development Study Program to discuss research in the economic field which has been and/or is being done. In the event, students present their research in an open forum, in front of the discussant and other students both from inside and outside the class. The assessment of the paper is based on various aspects, such as the author’s understanding, systematics of analysis, the quality of arguments, and oral presentation in the form of presentations and discussions.
In addition, ESC has become a space for students to receive feedback on the papers written and presented in open forums. This has also become part of the effort to improve the quality of learning evaluation in the Unpar’s Economic Development Study Program.
ESC 2017: Indonesian Policy and Economic Issues
In mid-2017, ESC raised the theme of “Policy Issues and Indonesian Economy”. Not only focusing on the development of the economy in the national scope, the papers involved also looked at various development issues from the multilateral and regional perspectives.
A total of 69 students from the classes of 2011 to 2015 participated in the conference. Participants conducted research and created papers, either in groups or individually.
Meanwhile, the issues raised within the framework of the conference theme were very diverse. For example, a paper entitled “The Relationship between Economic Growth and Insurance” or “An Analysis of the Economic Loss Value of River Pollution by the Tannery Industry Waste” written by a student in a field study in Sukaregang, Garut regency, West Java.
As a form of appreciation, at the closing of the conference the three best papers were announced. It is expected to be a motivation for other authors to improve the quality of articles that can be developed in the future. Articles that had been presented during the ESC event were documented in the form of proceedings available at Unpar Library.
Through the ESC event, it is expected that the quality and competence of students in the mastery of the economic field can improve, as well as the skills competence to formulate, write, and present the results of open scientific studies.
