SURAKARTA – The Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS), continues to prepare students for their Internship Program and Community-Based Field Practice (PBL-2) through a series of capacity-building sessions. One of the training modules focused on office application skills, delivered by Kurniawan Rahmadika, S.K.M., to strengthen students’ administrative and data management competencies before entering professional field settings.
The session was designed to enhance students’ proficiency in using office productivity software commonly utilized in government institutions, healthcare facilities, non-governmental organizations, and other professional workplaces. Mastery of digital administrative tools has become an essential competency for public health professionals, supporting efficient documentation, reporting, and data management during field activities.
The training began with an introduction to the fundamentals of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Students learned essential features for preparing professional documents, organizing data, creating tables, and performing basic spreadsheet operations that are frequently required during internships and community-based public health programs.
The session then continued with an overview of Google Workspace, including Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Forms. Participants explored collaborative document editing, cloud-based data management, and the creation of online forms for surveys, data collection, and program evaluation. These tools provide practical solutions for supporting teamwork and improving efficiency in public health projects.
Students were also introduced to Autocrat, an add-on for Google Sheets that automates document generation from spreadsheet data. The instructor demonstrated how Autocrat can streamline administrative workflows by automatically producing personalized documents, helping reduce manual work while improving accuracy and productivity.
As the final practical exercise, participants practiced creating mass invitation letters using the Mail Merge feature in Microsoft Word integrated with Microsoft Excel. Through this hands-on activity, students learned how to generate personalized documents efficiently, a valuable administrative skill widely applied in government offices, healthcare institutions, and community organizations.
Through this training, the Department of Public Health UMS reaffirmed its commitment to equipping students with digital competencies that meet the demands of today’s professional environment. By strengthening students’ proficiency in office applications and digital productivity tools, the department aims to prepare future public health professionals who are technologically competent, efficient in administrative tasks, and ready to contribute effectively during internships, community-based field practice, and their future careers.
