North Maluku Human Capital Investment: Higher Education Scholarship Programme Sends Students to China
PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), together with Weda Bay Nickel (WBN), continues to strengthen its commitment to supporting human resource development through scholarship programmes for students from North Maluku and various other regions in Indonesia.
From undergraduate levels within the country to opportunities for postgraduate studies abroad, IWIP and WBN are striving to expand educational access while producing a superior young generation ready to contribute to national development.
Since its launch in 2021, the Weda Bay Scholarship Programme has become a tangible manifestation of the company’s contribution to improving human resource quality through access to higher education for the youth of North Maluku. The programme specifically targets students from the Central Halmahera and East Halmahera Regencies who are currently pursuing education at various universities across Indonesia.
To date, at least 92 students have benefited from the Weda Bay Scholarship Programme. The External Relations Manager of PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), Lukman Hakim, emphasised that education is a crucial long-term investment in preparing the younger generation to face global challenges.
One of the beneficiaries, Salsabilah Irwan, an Agrotechnology student at the Faculty of Agriculture, Khairun University, expressed that this educational assistance significantly eases the burden of tuition fees and motivates her to continue achieving academic excellence.
In addition to undergraduate programmes, IWIP and WBN are also extending their educational reach to the international level. Through a partnership with the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB), the companies are providing full scholarships for Master’s (S2) degrees in China. This programme focuses on the fields of metallurgy and material science, which are highly relevant to the needs of Indonesia’s mineral downstream industry.
This strategic move is expected to create local experts with global competence, ensuring that local youths can play key roles in the operations of strategic industries in the country. Through the synergy between IWIP and WBN, this programme serves as a bridge for Indonesian students to absorb the latest science and technology from one of the world’s leading universities in these fields.
This ongoing commitment proves that the presence of industry in North Maluku focuses not only on economic aspects but also provides a significant social impact through the transformation of human resource quality.