My Ruangguru internship was a dream come true. Literally.
When I was in high school, my father once asked me, “If money is no longer a problem for you, what do you want to do?”
I told him that I’ve always wanted to travel around Indonesia. I want to visit regions that require major educational improvement, exchange ideas with the surrounding community, and give back by providing learning and tutoring.
I thought that was just wishful thinking. Because, when can we be free from financial problems? That question rang in my mind when I answered my father’s question. That question also got its answer when I interned at Ruangguru.
For three months, I was a Government Relations and Project Sustainability Intern in the Impact Department, which operates the Ruangguru Foundation. My responsibilities included researching issues and the latest developments in education and establishing good relationships with education agencies in more than 25 districts.
Above all, the most exciting opportunity was implementing one of our programs (which I helped research on). With other colleagues in the Impact department, we commenced an online teacher-training program called Indonesia Teaching Fellowship (ITF) in North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. This program is a collaborative effort between Ruangguru, Adaro Foundation, and Persada Capital Investama in hopes of improving teacher quality across 10 districts in Indonesia. The fellowship provides them free, year-long access to learning content in the Ruangguru and ruangkerja applications and in-person counseling sessions.
My Ruangguru internship helped me live one of my dreams when we went to North Lombok and implemented the ITF program. Doing good, giving back, and providing access to quality educational content for teachers who deserve them was literally my my job.
Maybe, when you hear of Lombok, you imagine beaches and resorts on holidays. Yet Lombok is not only a stretch of soft sands and blue water. There are still untouched and underdeveloped areas, especially ones that were hit by natural disasters like earthquakes. That’s the Lombok I was assigned at.
We hosted a full-day onboarding session for the 103 ITF recipients in North Lombok. I was responsible for the sessions’ logistical needs, making sure that all of our presentations and their complementary content ran smoothly so the teachers can follow the program comfortably.
Yes, those were stark tasks compared to my daily office work in Jakarta. Yet doing new things was another aspect that made working at Ruangguru interesting and challenging, and that certainly filled my list of new experiences.
I also met teachers from different backgrounds. They were all excited for teacher training programs such as ITF. One teacher even drove as far as 50 kilometers on his motorcycle to get to our onboarding location. Even so, he told me he was very happy with programs like this and hopes for similar efforts that can help improve his skills and knowledge as a teacher.
Working that one day and talking to a few of the ITF recipients showed me the value of this program. It made me very happy knowing that I was one of the people who made an impact on the development of these teachers, providing them learning and exchange of information that will hopefully improve their quality as educators.
I truly believe, that as a society privileged with easier access to the full scope of knowledge and education, we hold a responsibility to share them with the less fortunate.
My internship in Ruangguru taught me that work is not just a matter of getting a salary or being in a position. If we only pursue money, we will forget our real dreams. But, when we work with the mindset of “giving” instead of “receiving,” we will work far more optimally and receive something more personal and fundamental than salary and position: we can realize our dreams.
If you’re looking for a place where you can realize YOUR dreams and drive impact for education, try Ruangguru. Join us here.
