Facing Final Assignment Challenges, ITB Counseling Encourages Students to Create Active Strategies

BANDUNG, kemahasiswaan.itb.ac.id — For most students, the final assignment is quite challenging. The reason is that it is one of their responsibilities while studying at the Bachelor's level. ITB students are no exception.

The enormity of the challenges has made ITB Counseling take the initiative to help students overcome psychological problems that may face in the Final Project phase. ITB Counseling Guidance held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on Final Assignment Success Strategies, which was held over three sessions, namely 22 and 29 February and 9 March 2024.

"During the final assignment period, several steps can be taken. This includes self-assessment, exploration, decision-making, and action. "From these four steps, we can learn the stages of working on the Final Assignment from preparation to completion," explained one of the FGD presenters, Nina Ratna Maulana, S.Psi., M.Psi., a Psychologist at BK ITB.

According to him, students can use the SWOT method (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) in carrying out self-assessment. Strengths and weaknesses come from internally and can be controlled and changed. Meanwhile, Opportunities (opportunities) and Threats (threats) come from external sources. You can take advantage of opportunities and protect against threats.

For example, they are making a career plan based on current conditions by preparing the title/theme of the Final Project. This can be mapped from when students undertake Practical Work (KP). Nina also said that one of the fundamental assets when working on a Final Assignment is that students need to be more open and flexible in their thinking. Students need to make notes if they experience obstacles or obstacles while completing the Final Assignment. Nina believes this will be very useful for students in identifying the difficulties they face.

Another speaker, Karlina Firdausi S.Psi., M.Psi., Psychologist at BK ITB, said that the practical steps students can take are the SMART concept. Among them, Specific: To widen the opportunity to achieve goals or targets, make the goals specific and clear. Measurable, where students must have measurable goals to monitor and track any progress. Achievable: even though you can set high targets, remember that to be able to achieve them, your goals must remain realistic. Relevant: The goal you want to achieve must feel important and be in harmony with other pertinent goals, such as your self-worth and long-term plans. That way, you can stay in control of it all. Finally, in Time Bound, where you focus on achieving your goals, you must determine a target date or deadline. Without a time limit, there will be no sense of urgency and motivation to achieve the goal. Therefore, determine when somebody can achieve the goals.

"By doing this, you can stay focused on meeting each deadline and be more enthusiastic when you get closer to the goal you want to achieve. To determine measurable goals, ask yourself how you know the target has been achieved and what indicators can show your progress in achieving the goal. "A realistic goal or target is when you know how that goal or target can be realized with the abilities, resources, and opportunities you have," concluded Karlina.