“From Santri to CEO” Penguatan Orientasi Kewirausahaan dan Kesiapan Karier Santri melalui Rihlah Iqtishadiyah berbasis Experiental Learning

Abstract

The rapid development of digital technology has shifted Generation Z's career orientation, including among students in Islamic boarding schools. This phenomenon requires educational institutions to prepare students not only as job seekers but also as job creators. This community service program aimed to provide business management training through the "From Santri to CEO" program as part of the Rihlah Iqtishadiyah activities and to explore students' career orientations after participating in experiential learning activities. A mixed-methods approach with a convergent parallel design was employed, involving 140 final-year students of TMI Darunnajah Islamic Boarding School. Data were collected through questionnaires, observations, interviews, and document analysis, and subsequently analyzed using descriptive and thematic techniques. The findings revealed that 59.3% of participants preferred becoming entrepreneurs, 25.0% chose to become employees, and 15.7% remained undecided about their future careers. However, 62.9% of respondents had never engaged in entrepreneurial activities. Despite this, the participants demonstrated relatively high entrepreneurial self-efficacy. These findings suggest that experiential learning approaches can strengthen entrepreneurial orientation and enhance career readiness among Islamic boarding school students in the digital era.