The talkshow that was held at the ITB SBM auditorium titled "The Spirit of Storytelling Based on the Narrative of Humanities". The invited speakers were Aleams Barra, S.Si., M.Si., Ph.D. (lecturer from ITB Mathematics Study Program and known as the Youtuber bermatematika.com) and Budi Hermawan (Head of UPTD Komdik West Java Education Department).

ITB AMI program is a forum for learning. Knowing that Indonesia will have 70% of its population being in the productive age in 2045, the opportunity to strengthen the country’s capabilities through education is not to be missed.

From a village in Ciamis, Barra admitted that he had not thought of the reason he chose ITB as his dream campus. He dealt with several opposing arguments made by others. Ultimately, his love for mathematics led him to a chance of studying at the Mathematics undergraduate and postgraduate program at ITB.

Budi, who works for the government, said that his task at UPTD Komdik West Java Education Department focused on helping the most marginalized students to obtain education. Refusing to neglect the education rights of West Java children, he continues to follow the current decree of the West Java government that supports education. "Our toughest problem is teaching them how to read, write and count as early as possible because those three are the foundation to understand and apply logical thinking.”

The West Java Education Department has conducted research about children's mathemaitcal ability as their thinking rationale has not been optimally honed. Hence, Budi and his team hope to help West Java children to receive education with better basic competencies.

Barra used his Youtube channel to teach mathematics, hoping it is accessible to children across Indonesia. He realized that the advancement of information technology can be utilized to teach others, and that he can move the hearts of Indonesian children that mathematics is a beautiful field of study to explore.

Education undeniably plays a role in breaking the chain of poverty. The essence of it lies in its journey. For example, enrolling in ITB requires participants to go through the process of learning, priority management, and other efforts to be named. In the end, education is the goal for the whole society, not just for an individual or a group.

Reporter: Lukman Ali (Mechanical Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Environmental Engineering, 2019)