LPDP Cannot Guarantee Employment for Alumni Upon Their Return

The Director General of the Education Fund Management Agency (LPDP), Sudarto, stated that the institution cannot guarantee employment for its alumni. The agency’s capacity is currently limited to developing and strengthening the ecosystem.

“Does LPDP guarantee that when they (alumni) return, they will have a job? That is beyond LPDP. That’s why we are talking about an ecosystem. We are coordinating with industry, including Danantara, so that this ecosystem can be built,” said Sudarto in a press conference at the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday evening, February 25, 2026. This effort will take time until the ecosystem is fully established.

Sudarto explained that, in parallel, LPDP is preparing internship or entrepreneurship schemes abroad for alumni for a period of up to two years after graduation, with LPDP approval and meeting the established requirements. “By providing this internship period, hopefully when they return, the industry will be ready. And hopefully, LPDP can be part of building the ecosystem,” he said.

In line with this, LPDP continues to strive to improve its strategy so that alumni can be absorbed by the labor industry after completing their studies. One of them, said Sudarto, is to focus on impact rather than just being an education service.

“We understand that for one person to become a superior human resource, it is not enough to study at the best university. What is more important is what happens after that,” said Sudarto.

LPDP has recently been trying to align scholarship priorities with industry and research needs, which are adjusted based on discussions with industry. Therefore, from 2021 to 2026, scholarship programs are directed more specifically towards strategic fields.

These strategic fields include STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), the food and maritime industry, energy, health, defense, digitalization (including artificial intelligence and semiconductors), as well as downstream industries, manufacturing, advanced materials, entrepreneurship, and the creative industry.

For 2026, the STEM and related scholarship quota reaches 80 percent. Meanwhile, the quota for non-STEM or SHARE (social sciences, humanities, arts and culture, religion, and economics) scholarships is a maximum of 20 percent.

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