Students’ choice of study programs in higher education is very much influenced by the labour market, especially job opportunities available for fresh graduates. This however is not always in line with the development direction promulgated by the government.
Favourite study programs sought after by many registrants of the State Higher Education Entrance Joint Selection (SBMPTN) include communications, medicine, management, economics, and information technology.

According to Ina Liem, Author, Speaker, and CEO at Jurusanku.com (which focuses on majors and career mapping), subjects relevant to the policy platform of Joko Widodo’s (President of Indonesia) administration would be in the fields of energy, food security, and logistics. Study programs on logistics are needed because Indonesia is building many ports and infrastructure.

According to Director of Learning and Student Affairs Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education Illah Sailah, the Government has a number of programs to encourage new students to choose study programs that will benefit the nation’s development. Recipients of Bidikmisi Scholarships (targeting students from underprivileged families) were encouraged to choose majors which are related with Indonesia development, such as agriculture, engineering and science.

Source: print edition of Kompas, page 11 (11 June 2015), as reported by (Indonesian Language).