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The yearly Tanoto Scholars Annual Networking (TSAN) gathered 43 Singapore-based Tanoto Scholars for a casual evening of dialogue and friendship at the Singapore Management University on 9 Dec 2019.
The scholars hailed from three universities, pursuing courses that include medicine, engineering, business and economics. Continuing from previous years’ sessions, the common theme of leadership threaded through 2019’s instalment.
Special guest Lien Choong Luen, General Manager of Gojek Singapore, captured the attention and imagination of the group with tales – as well as valuable and poignant lessons – of his adventures off the beaten path. Based on these experiences, he spoke on what he felt were critical ingredients to being a leader, that “context is not destiny”, “preparation is key” and what matters to teams is trust and purpose. On taking on new challenges, he constantly emphasized the importance of staying humble, being willing to start all over again and learn.
Tanoto Foundation Global CEO Satrijo Tanudjojo shared with the scholars Tanoto Foundation’s core belief that quality education accelerates equal opportunity, and the Foundation’s mission to harness the transformative power of education to realise people’s full potential and to improve lives. Founded by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto, Tanoto Foundation builds learning environments, develops future leaders and supports medical research and sciences. The sharing gave the Tanoto Scholars a wider perspective on their positions with respect to human capital development.
In her sharing session, RGE External Affairs Deputy Head Felicia Tang introduced the RGE group of companies and touched on currents in sustainable development and renewable materials such as plantation-based viscose rayon. She elaborated on the topics of renewability and circularity, on which RGE business groups have been doubling down. The focus areas also included the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), of which RGE business groups have been working on aligning and monitoring.
Tanoto Scholars took the opportunity to provide updates on the seventh edition of Project Sukacita, a Tanoto Scholar-initiated community service programme first launched in 2012 to serve the community in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau, Indonesia. With the support of Tanoto Foundation, the project has grown in the last few years with more volunteers on board reaching out to a larger number of beneficiaries.
Conducted over 14 consecutive days, the 2019’s instalment of Project Sukacita focussed on education and improving the quality of life for children at day care centres, kindergartens, primary schools, as well as the wider community in Rantau Baru, Pangkalan Kerinci. The team held workshops and demonstrations in dental hygiene, hand hygiene, aural health, as well as diet and nutrition. The intervarsity contingent also worked on improving health screening programmes introduced in previous instalments. The team also added measures to monitor the longitudinal effectiveness of the initiatives, the data and results of which would be shared with Tanoto Foundation.
TSAN 2019 not allowed the scholars to network with peers, university professors, as well as Tanoto Foundation staff, but also gave everyone the encouragement to pursue their goals, so they may in turn be better positioned to create positive and impactful outcomes for others.
Check out this short video recap of event, on Tanoto Foundation’s YouTube channel:
