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