The Friday Booster session organized by the Secretariat of the Indonesian Association of Islamic Economists (IAEI) encouraged sharia economy cadres to utilize scholarship opportunities from the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) as a strategic instrument to strengthen human resource capacity. This internal program was held virtually via Zoom on Friday (August 28) and was attended by Secretariat staff, current interns, and alumni interns.
Handika Surbakti—a member of the IAEI Digital Finance Development Committee and Director of Capacity Building at Mata Garuda LPDP—served as the speaker for the session, which was themed "Nurturing Talent, Building the Nation: LPDP for Rabbani (Virtuous) Economists." In his presentation, Handika explained that LPDP is an institution under the Ministry of Finance that manages an education endowment fund; the fund's management and investment returns are used to finance scholarship, research, and cultural programs.
"Understanding the LPDP concept is crucial for prospective applicants, as it should be viewed not merely as a scholarship provider, but as a state investment in human capital development," Handika explained.
Handika emphasized that LPDP’s vision is to cultivate Indonesia's future leaders. "Prospective scholarship recipients need to build a profile that demonstrates leadership capacity, vision, and a plan to contribute to Indonesia, rather than simply showcasing academic achievements," Handika asserted.
Regarding the development of the sharia economy and finance, Handika noted that the sharia economy community needs to make greater use of LPDP opportunities. The current number of LPDP recipients specializing in sharia economy and finance is considered to have room for growth.
Through the "Friday Booster" initiative, the IAEI Secretariat aims not only to boost internal capacity but also to raise awareness that strengthening the sharia economy requires serious investment in the quality of human resources. This initiative is expected to encourage more sharia economy cadres to pursue further education, strengthen their scholarly expertise, produce relevant research, and return to make tangible contributions to Indonesia's economic development.
