ILUNI FEB UI: Surviving the Real World
Rifdah Khalisha – Public Relations FEB UI
DEPOK – (4/9/2021) The Alumni Association of the Faculty of Economics and Business UI (ILUNI FEB UI) together with the Alumni of the Faculty of Economics, UI Batch 81 (FEDESA) held an online event entitled “Surviving the Real World”, on Saturday (4/9). This event shares tips and tricks on choosing a career in the real world.
The event featured Destry Damayanti (Chairman of ILUNI FEB UI and Senior Deputy Governor of BI) and Ari Kuncoro (UI Rector) for opening remarks. Also present as speakers were alumni of FEB UI 1981, namely Sri Mulyani Indrawati (Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia), Hamdi Hassyarbaini (Director of the Jakarta Futures Exchange), Lala Zahara Hamid (PT Makmur Bathi Lestari), and Mahendra Siregar (Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia).
Destry congratulated FEDESA for maintaining 40 years of togetherness as a family of FEB UI. “FEDESA is a class with a high concern for our campus, especially FEB UI. These alumni regularly hold many social activities. On behalf of ILUNI, I thank FEDESA for participating in various programs, one of which is room renovation of the FEB UI campus.”
“Hopefully the event participants can take away lessons learned from their seniors who are far more experienced in the real world, which is certainly different from the campus world. Hopefully the alumni will continue to work and serve their beloved nation and country, especially Universitas Indonesia.” she added.
Ari Kuncoro said, “Thank you FEDESA colleagues for this special event. Many people think life starts at 55 or 65. Well, this reunion reminds alumni to stay productive. In other words, many associates start a business at the age of 55, 60, and 65. Not only the goods business, but also the service business, such as business coaches, advisors, analysts, and so on.”
According to Ari, the topic of surviving the real world is very interesting. Fellow alumni may accidentally find interest in the lecture hall and pursue it as a profession. Therefore, he hopes that fellow alumni can continue to build togetherness through other reunion activities.
Minister Sri shared her travel stories and experiences as rural student from Semarang who studied at FEB UI. “At that time, my parents did not understand why I chose FEB UI. Moreover, none of my family members are from high school majoring in social studies. I don’t think I’m interested in following in the footsteps of my older brothers who chose to major in medicine and engineering. I want to study the social field. In the end, I applied for economics and psychology majors.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Indonesia’s FEB and a master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign USA, Sri decided to have a career at the Institute for Economic and Community Research (LPEM) FEB UI. For her parents, teaching is a noble job. Sri also agreed because she really likes to teach and research.
Until one day, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed Sri Mulyani to be the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia during his term of office during 2005-2010. A year in office, Euromoney magazine named her the Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year. In fact, Sri is the 23rd most influential woman in the world as well as the most influential in Indonesia. On 27 July 2016, President Joko Widodo again asked Sri to become the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia.
Similar to Sri, Hamdi migrated from Padang to Jakarta. At first, Hamdi went to college with financial support from his brother. However, he did not want to hang on for too long. With his tenacity, he sold meatballs in the FEB UI canteen and maintained the student exchange shop. In his second year, he managed to receive a scholarship so that he could pay for his studies and send funds to his mother.
“In the past, the majority of FEB UI students wanted a career in a bank or public accounting firm, including me. When I was still working at a bank, I saw an advertisement in the print media for a job vacancy for the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). Practically, I studied many books about the capital market and applied for the IDX. From 1995 to 2010, I was an IDX employee with many divisional changes.”
Hamdi continues to look for opportunities to increase his capacity. Finally, he was appointed as Director of Finance and HR in the first period and Director of Transaction Supervision in the second period. After that, he had time to enjoy the good times and build a business at home. Then, again, he ventured to apply for the position of Director at PT Bursa Berjangka Jakarta (BBJ). Exactly August 2020, he officially entered the Board of Directors of BBJ.
Hamdi advised, “Students must always think adaptively, have a more forward view in every opportunity and move without hesitation even though it is not their area of expertise.”
Turning to Lala, long before college, she was already interested in the creative industry. Following her father’s advice, she was determined to become a great person who works behind the scenes. She chose FEB UI to hone her mindset, expand relationships, and make her steps easier in reaching her dreams. During her studies, Lala actively participated in art activities committees on campus, including Jazz Goes to Campus (JGTC).
Apparently, the economy really helps her work in the creative industry, for example in terms of production management, marketing, to branding. Before landing at PT Makmur Bathi Lestari, Lala had a career in a number of well-known companies, namely Sony Music Entertainment, SinemArt Indonesia, MNC Group, and DePIC Production. Her dream is to build Indonesia’s creative industry to be able to compete in the international arena.
Finally, Mahendra’s career began in the last year before graduating from college. At that time, he saw a scholarship opportunity to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu). Without thinking, Mahendra immediately signed up. Luckily, he managed to receive the scholarship.
His actions were so outstanding that Mahendra has served in 8 ministries, including Deputy Minister of Trade, Deputy Minister of Finance, Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the United States, to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. During his tenure, he emerged as a great problem solver. Not only that, Mahendra has also been recorded as having extraordinary positions as President Commissioner, CEO, and so on.
“In choosing education and work, don’t make things too complicated. Since the first, I have never seen making a wrong decision. you have made the right decision or the decision that will make you right. Seize all opportunities and trust in what is in front of you. Then, we perfect it as we live it, refine it and learn more profoundly.” he said.
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