For Alamanda, education at Binar Academy is not only about teaching hard skills. She and her team are researching pedagogy as well to find methods to foster natural learners.
By
ESTER LINCE NAPITUPULU
·6 minutes read
ARSIP PRIBADI
Alamanda Shantika Santoso
The name Alamanda Shantika Santoso has often been mentioned during discussions on women and technology in Indonesia. Alamanda, the founder of Binar Academy, has established an information technology school that is affordable, or even free, and is open to anyone. Her commitment stems from her experience facing financial difficulties during her university years.
Alamanda, also known as Ala, was once part of Gojek, a homegrown on-demand tech platform giant, during which her career catapulted as the company’s vice president. During her two and a half years there, she played a crucial role in the birth of the application. While studying at Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta, Ala also founded a website development service company, which almost made her drop out of school.
The longer she remained in the world of digital technology, it became increasingly difficult for Ala to find tech talents in Indonesia, particularly those who are agile in adapting to changes. She wants qualified tech talents, like the ones from Silicon Valley. In November 2015, in Yogyakarta, Ala wrote about her dream of becoming the minister of education and establishing a school.
A year later, her passion to set up a school for tech talents became even stronger. Not long after, she founded the non-formal education institution, Binar Academy, in 2017. Supported by her friends, Dita Aisyah and Seto Lareno, the academy was established in Yogyakarta before it expanded to other cities.
Ala started Binar Academy by opening a coding and digital technology training class. She also offers free tuition to high school graduates. After graduating from Binar Academy, these tech talents are recruited by companies in need, which will provide recruitment fees to Binar Academy.
Ala’s passion to establish an education institution could finally be realized. Ala also provides training for companies that have yet to transform their operations in the current digital era.
Some students enroll in Binar Academy just for fun, as they do not have to pay tuition fees.
However, in 2020, she became increasingly concerned. Binar Academy, which is well-known for its free tuition policy due to its cooperation with partner companies, no longer had strong capital.
“Some students enroll in Binar Academy just for fun, as they do not have to pay tuition fees. Regardless, although it’s free of charge, our commitment to maintaining our quality remains. There are rental fees, as well as the costs of mentors and curriculum development that we must pay. At the end, Binar Academy can no longer remain free,” Ala said on Friday (9/7/2021).
DOKUMENTASI PRIBADI
Alamanda Shantika Santoso
In 2018, Binar Academy lost more than 50 percent of its students halfway through the year. The academy accepts 100 to 180 students per batch. As many as 25 percent of the students who have finished their education have been successfully recruited by partner companies. Many students, however, are not serious in building a career as a tech talent. In 2019, with a heavy heart, Ala and her team decided to cancel the academy’s 13th batch as they were no longer able to provide free classes.
Despite facing a crisis, Ala could rise from the ashes, armed with new decisions after learning from her past failures.
“Even though the academy now charges tuition fees, we remain committed to providing affordable and first-grade education so that we can obtain the Education Alliance Finland certification. Our services are now all online and charge a much lower fee, about 10 percent off of similar schools," said Ala.
With affordable tuition fees, Ala’s goal is to teach people about respect and commitment.
“We are considering to even further lower our tuition fees so that more young people from regional areas can access education and become excellent tech talents.”
Part-time study
Ala recalls the supporting environment her parents created at home. She enjoyed the freedom to learn, which made her a very curious individual who loves to learn anything. Unfortunately, the joy of freedom and learning was often difficult to find at schools, which was why she often skipped classes.
At home, Ala spent her time reading books and exploring computers. Since her childhood, Ala has loved math and computers.
“When I was in university, I thought about becoming a lecturer and then a professor. After entering the business realm and also the world of technology, I forgot my initial dreams. After a while, however, I remembered my passion for education. With determination, I then established Binar Academy,” Ala recalled.
DOKUMENTASI PRIBADI
Alamanda Shantika Santoso (right) with the co-founders of Binar Academy, Dita Aisyah (standing) and Seto Lareno (left).
In running the academy, Ala prioritizes affordability and accessibility. She recalls how her parents were actually able to pay for her education and how she planned to study abroad like her two brothers. However, unexpectedly, her father suffered a stroke, which led to her family’s properties being sold to pay for her father’s medical expenses.
When Ala was about to take the annual state university entrance test (PTN), her parents did not have the money to pay the registration fee, which cost them Rp 150,000 (US$10.42). In a turn of events, her parents were able to earn some money to pay for Ala’s study at Bina Nusantara University in the IT and mathematics program.
Regardless, she had to work to pay for university. From selling pirated VCDs to teaching elementary to high school children, she did it all. From her experience tutoring students, she came to understand the underlying problems that make school pupils dislike learning. This motivated Ala to create a fun way of learning.
"As a result, my students were able to get good grades in school," said Ala.
For Ala, education at Binar Academy is not only about teaching hard skills. She and her team are researching pedagogy as well to find methods to foster natural learners.
“As a metaphor, this academy only serves as the outer shell of my goal. At the core, we focus more on character building, teaching soft skills and also conducting serious research on learning and teaching methods. We want to employ a similar pattern of teaching and learning as the one adopted in Finland,” Ala said.
Ala’s goal is to lead a useful life that can help prepare the next generation for a better future.
"I just want to leave a legacy. I don\'t need people to remember my name; the most important thing is that I left a legacy that is well-remembered through actions or thoughts.”
Alamanda Shantika Santoso
Born: Jakarta, May 12, 1988
Education:
· Al-Izhar Pondok Labu High School (2002-2005)
· Bachelor’s degree in math and IT from Bina Nusantara University (2005)
Professional experiences:
· Founder and president director of Pentool Studio (2009-2014)
· Member of the evaluation team of human resources and economics, Presidential Advisory Council (January-July 2019)
· Vice president, People\'s Journal-People and Culture, Gojek (May-Sept 2016)
