Brisia Jodie & Hendro Yulius Putro Invite Young People to Build the Nation With Technology

Brisia Jodie & Hendro Yulius Putro Invite Young People to Build the Nation With Technology

JAKARTA: A pair of eyes were looking intently to the computer screen in front of them. They belonged to a young man, who, in his left hand, was holding a small object with colorful wires and small lamps that blink every once in a while. In his right hand was a solder he had just used to build an electronic circuit.

The man was Hendro Yulius Putro and he was demonstrating the steps to assemble a robotic framework to a group of children via an online platform. Clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic is not stopping him from teaching robotics to children in Surabaya.

Hendro has a dream of building this world using technology. He is also the force behind Yayasan Adicita Wiraya Guna (AWG) Robotic Course, which has trained numerous excellent young minds in robotics; his students are well known national and international champions in competitions in Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Beijing, and Japan.

Hendro is also a recipient of SATU Indonesia Awards 2019 in the Technology category. The award recognized his initiative in introducing robotics to Indonesian children and vice versa – introducing Indonesian talents in robotics to the world.

“The future is ours if we prepare for it today. Technology will disrupt so many areas of our lives. We need to get better acquainted with technology, to never stop learning, and to be innovative,” Hendro said.

Today (11/7), Hendro shared his story in an inspiring webinar held by Semangat Astra Terpadu Untuk (SATU) Indonesia and Young on Top with Indonesian comic Ernest Prakasa as the moderator. Aside from Hendro, the webinar also featured Brisia Jodie, a singer and content creator who shared her experience in using technology to show her work to the public. Currently, Brisia has 5 million followers on Instagram and 817,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel.

“I think [technology] sets the young people of ‘00s apart from the generation who grew up in 1990’s. The people who were born in the new millennium are digital natives, growing up with cell phones and social media platforms. When it’s their turn to create something, they do it by utilizing digital technology,” said the 24-years old.

Advancing Indonesia Through Robotics

Hendro’s journey began by him initiating robotics as an extra-curricular activity in the school where he had been teaching. The idea came as the number of students declined. At one point, the school’s management planned to shut down schooling activities entirely.

It was Hendro, a Physics major who graduated from the State University of Surabaya, who managed to convince the school to continue. The wheel turned and after five months the school started to see an increase in school application rate.

Within two years, Hendro was entrusted with the role of a principal, which gave him a greater responsibility to attract more students.

Hendro genuinely believed that technology could boost his school’s reputation. Upon returning from a robotics contest organized by Sepuluh November Institute of Technology in 2011, he initiated robotics as an extra-curricular activity in Al-Azhar 13 Islamic Junior High School in Surabaya.

He recruited facilitators to train his students and developed modules for them to help them design a line tracking robot and a mini soccer robot.

In 2012, thanks to his dedication, Hendro brought home a special recognition from the International Robot Olympiad in Beijing, China for his creation: the Loving Plant Robot, a plant watering robot.

His success in growing the extra-curricular and the international award motivated Hendro to introduce robotics in different schools.

To realize this dream, Hendro founded the Yayasan AWG Robotic Course. Today, it has as many as 400 participants and has partnered with 21 schools in Surabaya, Solo, Pasuruan, Gresik, Palu, and Sorong.

Hendro Yulius Putro’s endeavors to introduce robotics to Indonesian young learners have led him to the SATU Indonesia Awards accolade in 2019.

As with the previous editions, SATU Indonesia Awards appreciate Indonesian youths who work tirelessly for their communities. The Awards will select five individuals who excel in Health, Education, Environment, Entrepreneurship, and Technology. There is also a group category for collectives who work in any of the five streams.

This year, Astra added a special category to honor youths who selflessly contributed in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic is not over yet, the enthusiasm of Indonesian youths to apply or to nominate someone they know who may deserve this appreciation is far from dampened.

Since registration started on March 2, 2020, SATU Indonesia Awards 2020 has received more than 7,631 applications. The 2020 edition hoped to top 8,654 applications in 2019.

As of today, SATU Indonesia Awards has appreciated 305 youths, consisting of 59 national and 246 provincial awardees. Aside from cash prize of Rp60 million to each awardee, Astra also provides them with continued mentoring.

The spirit and motivation of Indonesian youths to do good for others are aligned with Astra’s mission of prosper with the nation.

For more information, including on how to register, visit www.satu-indonesia.com. To stay updated, follow the program on Instagram (@SATU_Indonesia), Youtube (SATU Indonesia), Facebook (Semangat Astra Terpadu) and Twitter (@SATU_Indonesia).

For further information, please contact:

Boy Kelana Soebroto

Head of Corporate Communications

PT Astra International Tbk

Ph. 021-508-43-888

About Astra:

PT Astra International Tbk was established in 1957 in Jakarta as a general trading company under the name Astra International Inc. In 1990, for the purpose of the company’s initial public offering (IPO), the name of the company changed to PT Astra International Tbk, followed by listing its shares on the Indonesia Stock Exchange under the ticker code ASII.

Astra has developed its business by implementing a business model based on synergies and diversification within seven business segments, consisting of: 1) Automotive, 2) Financial Services, 3) Heavy Equipment, Mining, Construction & Energy, 4) Agribusiness, 5) Infrastructure and Logistics, 6) Information Technology and 7) Property.

Astra conducts business operations in all parts of Indonesia under the management of more than 237 subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates companies, and was supported by more than 216.425 employees, as of March 2020.

As one of the largest national business groups today, Astra has built a strong reputation through offering a range of quality products and services, taking into account the implementation of good corporate governance and environmental governance. Astra always aspires to be the pride of the nation that participates in efforts to improve the welfare of the Indonesian people.

Therefore, Astra's business activities strive to apply a balanced mix in the commercial aspects of business and non-business contributions through 9 foundations and a variety of sustainable social responsibility programmes Astra Untuk Indonesia Sehat, Astra Untuk Indonesia Cerdas, Astra Untuk Indonesia Hijau and Astra Untuk Indonesia Kreatif.

Astra initiated the Semangat Astra Terpadu Untuk (SATU) Indonesia Awards programme, which has entered a decade this year, and has given recognition awards to 305 young Indonesians, consisting of 59 national level recipients and 246 provincial level recipients in the fields of Health, Education, the Environment, Entrepreneurship and Technology, which are integrated with Astra’s wide range of community activities through 87 Kampung Berseri Astra and 645 Desa Sejahtera Astra initiated in 34 provinces throughout Indonesia.

For further information, please visit www.astra.co.id & www.satu-indonesia.com, and follow Astra through Instagram (@SATU_Indonesia), Youtube (SATU Indonesia), Facebook (Semangat Astra Terpadu) and Twitter (@SATU_Indonesia).