The Development Structure of the <i>Merdeka Belajar</i> Curriculum in the Industrial Revolution Era

Abstract

In early 2020, the Ministry of Education and Culture released the Merdeka Belajar policy to innovate higher education learning in Indonesia. Its policy aimed to bridge the gap between business, industry, and higher education. So that higher education institutions can produce greater human resources to earn a competitive advantage. Of course, this policy must be followed up by universities, specifically at the Faculty level, to be crucial as a reference for study programs technically and conceptually for the implementation of Merdeka Belajar. This study aims to develop a curriculum structure that compatible with Merdeka Belajar at the Faculty of Economics, Universitas Negeri Medan. The object of research is updating and implementing the Merdeka Belajar curriculum. The research subjects involved lecturers, faculty functionaries, and practitioners. This study is prospective policy research that uses the Focus Group Discussion technique. Prospective studies are conducted to transform information before a policy action is initiated and implemented. The results of the research are in the form of a curriculum structure containing 1) interpretation of national policies; 2) interpretation of university policies; 3) conceptual basis; 4) study program curriculum structure; 5) course composition; and 6) reference for developing learning tools. This structure is generally used as a reference for other study programs to create Merdeka Belajar designs according to characteristics. For other researchers, this structure can be further developed and tested for its performance in creating a Merdeka Belajar curriculum and its implementation.