To improve the abilities and competencies of Vocational High Schools graduates that are needed by the business and the industrial sector, SEAMEO BIOTROP held an activity “Workshop and Focus Group Discussion: Identification of Vocational High School Development Needs in the Field of Tropical Biology”. This activity is carried out online via zoom on February 23, 2022. The purpose of this activity is to identify problems, potentials, and needs for capacity building of SMKs, as well as formulate capacity building activities and collaboration with vocational high schools in Indonesia.

This activity was divided into two sessions. The first session was held by a workshop and presenting the resource person including Dr. Wardani Sugiyanto, M.Pd (Director of Vocational High School, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology), Dr. Supriyanto (Affiliate Scientist at SEAMEO BIOTROP), and Riza Aitiando Pasaribu S.Pi, M.Si (Coordinator of the Commission on Research, Cooperation and Internationalization, Faculty of Fisheries, IPB University). Some of the topics presented included: Learning Models and Prototype Curriculum for vocational capacity building; “Best Practice” SEAMEO BIOTROP's coaching and collaboration activities with vocational high schools in Indonesia through the SMARTS-BE Program; Introduction to the Marine Science and Technology Study Program and the prospects for the Tropical Ocean in Indonesia. The second session was followed by a focused discussion which was divided into two groups.

This event was opened by Plt. Bureau of Cooperation and Public Relations (BKHM), Anang Ristanto, SE., MA. In his opening remarks, he hoped that this activity could be a medium for improving the quality of education, especially vocational schools throughout Indonesia, in producing competent, competitive and adaptive graduates to the demands and needs of business and the industrial sector. This is in line with what was conveyed by the Director of SEAMEO BIOTROP, Dr. Zulhamsyah Imran who emphasized the need to improve the quality of graduates who are ready to work. "To create an independent and highly competitive vocational high school, it is necessary to conduct a Training Need Analysis (TNA)," he said. Furthermore, Dr. Zulhamsyah Imran also explained that the TNA was conducted to find out the competency gap required by business and the industrial sector and vocational schools in Indonesia, especially in the field of tropical biology.

Responding to the TNA analysis, Dr. Wardani Sugiyanto, M.Pd in his speech also explained there are discrepancy gaps between the curriculum and the needs of business and the industrial sector, so the project-based learning (PBL) curriculum is needed. "One of the lack of technological innovation in agriculture, animal husbandry, and fisheries in vocational schools when faced with industrial-scale production, so to remove the barriers between subjects and demand drivers, it is necessary to develop a curriculum based on project-based learning (PBL)," he stated.