UPNVJ Public Relations - A cross-agency coordination meeting to strengthen the National Defense Awareness Development Program (PKBN) emphasized the importance of National Defense certification as a measurable indicator of national competence. The forum, chaired by the Head of the National Defense Center (Bacadnas) at the Ministry of Defense, was attended by representatives of ministries, institutions, and universities deemed to have a strategic role in strengthening national values, on Wednesday (April 22, 2026).

In its directive, the meeting emphasized that the National Defense Program (PKBN) is a national priority program, with one of its main outputs being a National Defense certificate for successful participants. This certificate is considered strategically valuable because it serves as a marker of national competence relevant to various sectors, from education and bureaucracy to national leadership.

As a resource person in the forum, the Head of the UPNVJ National Defense Center, Dr. Ridwan, S.Sos., M.Si. , CIQnR, stated that the National Defense certificate in the future needs to have both prestigious value and real leverage. According to him, strengthening the meaning of certification is important so that the document does not stop as proof of administrative participation, but becomes a recognized instrument in strategic national processes. Dr. Ridwan's identity as a UPNVJ lecturer and lecturer of the National Defense Education course is listed on the official UPNVJ website, while the official faculty website also refers to him as the Head of the UPNVJ National Defense Center.

In his presentation, Dr. Ridwan stated that the National Defense certificate should ideally be considered for university admissions, State Civil Apparatus recruitment, job selection, and other strategic processes that require strong indicators of national insight, discipline, and national commitment of participants.

Furthermore, UPNVJ also presented its experience implementing the National Defense Actualization Program on campus. The forum stated that the model was developed as part of strengthening the National Defense curriculum and fostering student character, and was deemed to have potential for expansion as a good practice in higher education.

In response to the presentation, the National Defense Advisory Board (Bacadnas) of the Ministry of Defense expressed their appreciation and interest in the National Defense model implemented by UPNVJ. Going forward, they hope this approach can be replicated more widely across universities as part of a national strategy to build character, strengthen ideological resilience, and instill national awareness in the younger generation.

For UPNVJ, strengthening National Defense is not a fleeting agenda. UPNVJ places national defense as part of its institutional direction, and in February 2026, UPNVJ Rector, Prof. Dr. Anter Venus, also emphasized the importance of a non-military National Defense approach integrated into education, research, innovation, and community service. Within this framework, the idea of making National Defense certification an indicator of national competence holds strong relevance because it connects character development with the nation's strategic needs in a more measurable way.

This meeting is expected to be the first step in strengthening cross-sector synergy so that the values of National Defense do not stop at the discourse level, but can be implemented systematically, measurably, and have a real impact on national development.