Jakarta. Philanthropic organization Tanoto Foundation is seeking to nurture Indonesia’s future leaders with the Teladan scholarship.

The Education Ministry data shows that 13.3 percent of university graduates are unemployed. According to the National Statistics Agency, 12 percent of the unemployed are university graduates. This shows the lack of soft skills and leadership in graduates. The graduates’ skills also do not match with what the industry needs. 

Tanoto Foundation is seeking to address this problem with its flagship Teladan scholarship. Under this program, the Tanoto Foundation provides scholarships, coupled with well-structured leadership training, to shape Indonesian university graduates as future leaders.

The Tanoto Foundation scholarship began in 2006, but eventually transformed into the Teladan program in 2019. 

Teladan, short for “Transformasi Edukasi untuk melahirkan Pemimpin Masa Depan (‘Transforming Education to Create Future Leaders”), has partnered with 10 universties. They are Universitas Indonesia, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Universitas Hasanudin (Unhas), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Universitas Diponegoro (Undip), Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB University), Universitas Brawijaya (UB), Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU), Universitas Riau (Unri), and Universitas Mulawarman (Unmul).

Aside from the scholarship and leadership training, the program also grants university students opportunities to do research and build relations overseas. It also encourages students to be more active in their community.

As of 2022, over 8,167 students have become Tanoto Foundation scholarship awardees. Some alumni have excelled in their respective fields such as education, social, politics, culture, health, and technology. Some even received awards at the Tanoto Foundation’s graduation and gathering last December. Those awardees were Agung Baskoro (executive director for Trias Politika Strategies) and dr Anita Suryani, Sp. KO (sport medicine specialist doctor at EMC Sentul Hospital). Bene Dionysius Rajagukguk or Bene Dion (actor, writer, and comedian), and Prof Dr. Agr Ir Muhammad Cahyadi (an animal science biotechnology professor at Sebelas Maret University) also received the award.  The same goes for Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, the ambassador to Romania and accredited to Modolva.

Teladan encompasses the following programs: Lead Self (Semester 2-4), Lead Others (Semester 5-6), and Professional Preparation (Semester 8). It also facilitates Tanoto Scholars, the nickname for the awardees, to undertake development programs, which consist of the Tanoto Scholars Association, Tanoto Scholars Gathering, Tanoto Student Research Awards, Pay It Forward (community service), internship, sponsorship, and Global Experiences Program.