Sampoerna, Aminef offer scholarships

Sampoerna, Aminef offer scholarships

JAKARTA: The Sampoerna Foundation and the American Indonesian
Exchange Foundation (Aminef) on Wednesday signed an agreement to
provide scholarships for Indonesians to study for a Master of
Business Administration (MBA) in the United States.

The foundation prioritized MBA study because "in Indonesia's
current situation, we need to build the economic sector," said
Niken Rachmad, a member of Sampoerna Foundation's board of
directors. The foundation was established by publicly listed
cigarette maker PT HM Sampoerna.

Under the program, two students will be provided with a full
package of tuition fees, daily allowances and airfares, adding up
to about US$35,000 a year. The first batch will leave for the
academic year of 2005-2006.

Aminef is a bilateral organization formed to channel Fulbright
scholarships.

"We hope to increase the number of Indonesians studying in the
States," said Richard Carhart, Aminef's executive director.

Elna Merdy, the operations director of Sampoerna Foundation,
said that this year it would channel Rp 18 billion (US$2.12
million) in scholarships for education.

By December 2003, Sampoerna Foundation had provided
scholarships for 9,227 students from senior high school to post-
graduate studies. -- JP