If you want to get a higher education but your financial situation is stopping you, don’t give up. As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome.

Many scholarship programs are available to the public – from elementary school studies to doctoral degree level. And one of them is the Tanoto Foundation Scholarship Program.

Tanoto Foundation strives to be a center of excellence in alleviating poverty through education, and providing scholarships is one of the ways it helps communities to gain access to education.

However, Tanoto Foundation’s scholarships attract many applicants – meaning that you will need to compete with thousands of people who want the same thing.

There are many stages that applicants will need to pass in order to get a scholarship from Tanoto Foundation.

Here are some important tips which could be the key to getting a scholarship:

1. Ensure that all required documents are complete

This is the most basic stage of any scholarship application – document submission. Double-check all the documents you need to prepare and submit. Make sure all of them are there, and correct.

Regardless of how smart you are, if you do not submit all the required documents, you will not pass this stage.

2. Rest up for the psychometric test

Some scholarship programs will require candidates to sit for a psychometric test. The most important thing is for you to be in the best condition when sitting for the test.

A psychometric test is not an exam so you will not need to stay up all night cramming for it. Get enough rest, and having breakfast should help you to concentrate better and stay focused during the test.

3. Show your strengths during the interview

During the interview stage, don’t be nervous! Stay calm and be confident. Show off your strengths and accomplishments. Talk about your vision for the future. Being clear about your plan for the future can help your interviewer form a better picture of you.

The Tanoto Foundation Teacher Training Program (Pelita Guru Mandiri) has changed Agus Wagio’s views on being a teacher.

Agus, who is a teacher at SDN 180/V – a state elementary school in Lampisi, Renah Mendaluh sub-district in Indonesia’s Jambi province – joined the teacher training program in 2012.

Before joining the program, Agus fulfilled his responsibilities merely by teaching. Following his participation in Pelita Guru Mandiri, Agus has come to the realization that teachers not only have to be more creative when it comes to teaching, they also have to do more than just teach.

Agus explained that one creative way which makes it easier for his students to understand math is through a game called “Dakota”, which is a traditional Mancala game.

By using Dakota as a teaching method in class, Agus’ students are not only able to grasp and understand his lessons about the greatest common factor and least common multiple, the students also have fun while learning about them.

Agus’ creativity in teaching has been acknowledged by his students, as well as by his fellow teachers.

In fact, Agus has been entrusted to lead the Teacher Working Group at their school. As the group leader, Agus has to create work plans to improve teacher creativity.

Agus has so far introduced a Lesson Study Program to teachers at the school, based on a ‘Plan, Do, See’ concept he learnt from Tanoto Foundation and the Pelita Guru Mandiri Program.

Agus hopes that the knowledge he has acquired from Tanoto Foundation will benefit not just him, but rather all the teachers in his village.

Pelita Guru Mandiri aims to improve teachers’ capacities and competencies, including the ability to carry out fun and effective learning activities for students. Tanoto Foundation has been running the Pelita Guru Mandiri program since 2010, and has trained over 8,000 educators in Indonesia to date.

Written by Jazuli, Tanoto Foundation Jambi

A total of 45 Tanoto Foundation scholarship recipients recently learned how to design and run social action projects meant to bring positive impact to their communities, during a project management workshop held in Jakarta from January 19 to 22.

With the assistance of the Tanoto Scholars Association (TSA) in their respective cities, Tanoto scholars are expected to routinely develop and implement social action projects as part of the “pay it forward” concept ingrained within their Tanoto Foundation scholarships.

Previous activities which have been run by Tanoto Scholars include voluntary teaching at elementary schools by the TSA at Mulawarman University (in Samarinda, East Kalimantan), mangrove forest reforestation efforts by TSA Medan, and book reading program by TSA Hasanuddin University (in Makassar, South Sulawesi).

The training session began with presentations delivered by representatives from each TSA about their respective social projects, which were evaluated by the entire group. Following this, the participants received lessons in program planning, implementation, and monitoring. Participants seemed to be most interested in the latter, holding discussions about how best to monitor their social projects.

“Monitoring is one of the most crucial stages during a program. The purpose of monitoring is to allow project implementers to stay on track. Without monitoring, a program may cease running altogether. However, when monitored properly, the program can be run as planned,” explained Tutuk Utomo Nurhady, the workshop trainer.

The workshop participants were also taught how to evaluate their social programs – the stage which begins after their programs start running, or even after the programs have concluded. Through evaluation, it is possible to gauge the success of the program which they have implemented.

Ismi Nurhaidah, a Tanoto Scholar from Hasanuddin University, said: “This training was very useful. Now, I know that a good program is one with specific targets to achieve, and which can benefit the community.”

According to Tutuk, some of the participants are already capable of designing good programs, which is evident from the project plans they presented during the workshop. Some participants shared that they had received knowledge transfer in this area from former Tanoto Scholars.

Participants who attend the project management workshop are expected to use the knowledge gained to plan and run their own social projects, as well as monitor and evaluate them.