The Directorate of Partnership and Alignment of Business and Industry (MITRAS DUDI) plays a crucial role in developing programs that align vocational education with industry needs. To implement this mission, the MITRAS DUDI Directorate has partnered with the Directorate of Research and Community Service at Yogyakarta State University (DRPM UNY) to develop an alignment instrument. According to Dr. Sulistio Mukti Cahyono, S.E., M.B.A., Coordinator of MITRAS DUDI Alignment, this initiative is part of an ongoing effort aligned with the roadmap for Vocational Education Alignment. The collaboration with UNY has been active for several years, contributing to these efforts.

Prof. Dr. Samsul Hadi, M.Pd., M.T., Director of DRPM and head of the 2024 Vocational Education Alignment Instrument Preparation Team, emphasized UNY’s commitment to supporting the alignment of vocational education with industry needs (DUDI). He also highlighted that this collaboration helps achieve UNY's Main Performance Indicators (IKU) 3 and IKU 6 through partnerships with government agencies.

Eka Ary Wibawa, M.Pd., Secretary of the Preparation Team, explained that the 2024 instrument development builds on research activities from the previous year. These earlier studies identified six key dimensions crucial for aligning vocational education with industry: curriculum, learning, educators and educational personnel, students, facilities and infrastructure, and partnerships. This alignment framework is applied across three vocational education units: Vocational High Schools (SMK), Universities Implementing Vocational Education Programs (PTPPPV), and Course and Training Institutions (LKP), as well as their partner industries.

Eka Ary further outlined the stages of the alignment instrument development process, which include drafting the instruments and scoring guidelines, validating these instruments, conducting readability tests and limited trials, providing technical guidance for instrument usage, and carrying out large-scale trials. The goal of this process is to ensure that vocational education meets industry needs, fostering stronger alignment between educational institutions and the job market.

The DRPM UNY team working on this initiative includes Prof. Dr. Samsul Hadi (Director of DRPM), Dr. Khusni Syauqi, M.Pd. (FV), Eka Ary Wibawa, M.Pd., and Arum Darmawati, M.M. (FEB). Additionally, postgraduate students Rahmat Darmawan, S.Pd., Yolandaru Septiana, M.Pd., Kartianom, M.Pd., and Andi Harpeni D., M.Pd. are also involved, contributing to the success of the project.