Former Tanoto Scholar Steffi Melinda is having a fruitful career. A native of Jakarta, Steffi is a computer science graduate, and today leads the Business Intelligence team at German software company Bonial International GmbH in Berlin.

Part of Steffi’s success has been due to Tanoto Foundation, from which she received a scholarship in 2009 to complete her undergraduate studies at the University of Indonesia.

“Luckily, I used to join the team building workshops organized by Tanoto Foundation (during my time as a Tanoto Scholar). In this workshop, I learned from people who were successful and they shared their knowledge and experiences about being open-minded and thinking ‘out of the box’ when carrying out a job, and it really helped when I applied this when I first started working,” Steffi shared.

Besides having their school fees covered, Tanoto Scholars are provided with leadership training and skills development sessions, as part of their scholarships. Tanoto Scholars also undergo volunteer work, further contributing to their personal and professional development.

After graduating from the University of Indonesia, Steffi worked as an IT auditor for an accounting company before receiving a Master’s scholarship from the European Union.

Over the next two years, Steffi studied Information Technology for Business Intelligence in three countries – Belgium, France and Germany. Following completion of her Master’s, Steffi landed a job as a technical consultant in Berlin.

According to Steffi, the toughest challenge she first faced when working abroad was cultural differences, including in the workplace.
To overcome this challenge, Steffi had to open up to her colleagues, sharing her thoughts and getting their opinions in return.

Good communication with the others was the key – something that Tanoto Foundation helped to instill all those years ago, Steffi realized.

Another thing that Tanoto Foundation helped to foster was passion, she said.

So far, Steffi’s love for technology and business has kept her motivated to continue exploring her capabilities. She enjoys learning about new technologies and reading business articles in her spare time.

Steffi said that it is important to keep oneself updated, in order to further develop your career and face upcoming challenges in an ever-changing era.

Tanoto Foundation, as official sponsor and supporter of the Indonesian team at the 2018 Asian Games, has launched the #1Emas1Perspustakaan (1Gold 1Library) and #SekolahkuDulu programs to join in the spirit of the games while further bolstering its commitment to improving children’s literacy in Indonesia.

The #1Emas1Perpustakaan program will see Tanoto Foundation developing a library in one of its partner schools for every gold medal won by an Indonesian athlete during the upcoming Asian Games taking place in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2, 2018.

“The #1Emas1Perpustakaan program shows Tanoto Foundation’s commitment to raising reading interest and ability among children in Indonesia.

“It is also part of our education quality improvement activities which we have been running since 2010,” said J. Satrijo Tanudjojo, Global CEO of Tanoto Foundation.

“Tanoto Foundation was founded by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto with the aim of improving lives by focusing on education. We have three pillars of activity, namely early childhood development and education, improving the quality of primary and secondary education, and developing leadership through scholarship programs for undergraduate students,” Satrijo added.

According to the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, Indonesia lags behind other countries in terms of reading ability. In the survey, Indonesia is ranked 66^th out of the 72 countries with a score of 397, far behind Singapore which scored 535 and Malaysia which scored 431.

Reading ability is in fact very important in the learning process. The better a person’s ability to read, the better the person absorbs knowledge. Therefore, improving children’s literacy is vital for them to have improved lives in the future.

As part of the #1Emas1Perpustakaan campaign, Tanoto Foundation is also inviting the involvement of the wider Indonesian community to participate in the #SekolahkuDulu (#MyOldSchool) social media competition.

To enter, participants are encouraged to upload photos of themselves when they were in school onto their personal Instagram accounts with the #SekolahkuDulu hashtag. Participants must also mention @tanotoeducation on the post.

Tanoto Foundation is providing attractive prizes to winners of the competition – a short study course package to South Korea and six iPad Pro are up for grabs.

For further information on the #SekolahkuDulu competition, please visit www.asiangames.tanotofoundation.org.

Teachers are key to the success of the teaching and learning process – the more qualified a teacher is, the greater the impact on a student.

Tanoto Foundation collaborates with educators across a range of teaching levels, including professors at universities, in achieving its goal of supporting the improvement of teacher quality and its subsequent impact on students, in Indonesia.

Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Surakarta is one of Tanoto Foundation’s partner universities.

“Through our collaboration, we assist teachers at our university to anticipate future changes within the field of education,” said Prof. Dr. Ravik Karsidi, Chancellor of UNS Surakarta.

One of the main things that Tanoto Foundation aims to do, in collaborating with its partner universities, is to strengthen the role of the Institute of Education and Education Personnel (LPTK) centres found in Indonesia.

LPTK are educational institution or educational department with the aim of transforming teacher candidates into professional educators.
“Tanoto Foundation’s strategy to improve teacher quality is to integrate theory and practice, and increase the use of these practices in both the LPTKs as well as their partner schools,” shared Stuart Weston, Director of the Pelita Pendidikan Program at Tanoto Foundation.

Understand the best teaching practices
Professional teachers should understand the best practices in the teaching and learning process. The teacher must understand that teaching and learning is a two-way process between teacher and student – not just from teacher to student. Teachers in Tanoto Foundation partner schools practice the best teaching models such as getting students to learn while playing, and also learning outside the classroom. This model makes students feel more comfortable and better understand the lessons.

Creatively improve student literacy
Teacher dedication is not limited to just delivering lessons in the classroom. A teacher must also be able to encourage students to carry out independent study outside the school. Several teachers at the Tanoto Foundation partner schools have succeeded in increasing student literacy in creative ways such as through the introduction of storytelling sessions in school and the creation of ‘reading corners’ in the classroom as well as outside it.

Communicate with parents
The ability to communicate with parents is an important skill that teachers must have. Teachers should help convince parents to care about their children’s development as well as school conditions. Teachers at Tanoto Foundation partner schools are encouraged to involve parents and communities in collectively playing an active role in the development and improvement in quality of schools.

Able to recognize the potential and motivate students
A teacher’s role can be similar to a football coach in that the teacher must be able to recognize the unique talents of all students. A student should be able to approach the teacher to gain an overview about their strengths, and focus on the most suitable field of study in line with these strengths. Teachers must also be able to motivate their students in order to realize their full potential.