Astra 1st is a scholarship issued by PT Astra International Tbk. It is also a self-development program for students in Indonesia that has been active for a decade. In 2021, the total recipients of its 10th batch exceeded 4400 students from various regions.

Jonathan and Gegy Miola from Parahyangan Catholic University were handed the chance to become business project consultants for PT TAF (Toyota Astra Financial Services), a company that provides financing services ranging from car loans to multipurpose installments. In 2021, PT TAF held an online incubation program called “TAF Incubation 2021” for both students and fresh graduates of STEM majors. This program was supervised by the Astra 1st team while both Jonathan and Gegy participated in this event as project leaders.

Participants of TAF Incubator 2021 were guided by their mentors to be more prepared for the world after university. Those who passed the event have a chance of winning the grand prize of Rp 5,5 million as well as an internship at PT TAF to become full-time employees.

More than 160 students from Indonesia and abroad registered for TAF Incubation 2021. The event had training courses that taught digital trends in technology, project management, data analytics, IT infrastructure, and cyber security. It also held the Internal Challenge- a case study session that involves mentoring the participants and presenting their ideas.

Jonathan was responsible for both event planning and partnership divisions. “We have 4 divisions: academics, event planning, graphic design and marketing, as well as partnership. I am part of the event planning and partnership divisions which prepares daily event concept and collaborates with media partners, especially with communities and IT student associations,” he described. “In the end, we successfully partnered with at least 20 communities in 2 weeks. The event also went smoothly and was filled with festivities. We are glad to get positive feedback from all participants.”

Jonathan stated that TAF Incubation 2021 was organized to discover problems faced by corporations and create solutions from assessing the situation. “Identifying the problem may take some time because Gegy and I wish to handle its root cause. If we simply solve the matter perfunctorily as many do, the impact to the business will be unsustainable,” Jonathan enthusiastically illustrated.

The identification and ideation processes done by Jonathan and Gegy lasted for 2 months. In the end, the idea of the TAF Incubation event was created and approved by the HR members of PT TAF.

The Dean of SEEI (School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics) ITB, Dr. Tutun Juhana, S.T, M.T., also supported TAF Incubation 2021. He showed his utmost support for everyone by giving a welcoming speech on the third day.

“Events like this should be frequently held because collaborations between industries and universities are very important,” Dr. Tutun noted. “Experience from work needs to be shared with students so that they are prepared to face it after graduation.” Additionally, HMIF (Informatics Student Association) ITB supported the event as its community partner.

Reporter: Yoel Enrico Meiliano (Teknik Pangan, 2020)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Teknik Lingkungan, 2019)