Winning Scholarships, This is Dream of the Younger Generation in Tuban's "Billionaire Village"

Tuban, February 3^rd, 2022 – A total of 21 from 47 Tuban students who received Pertamina Group scholarships this year entered the final stage of study at D-III study program of Politeknik Energi dan Mineral (PEM) Akamigas in Cepu, Central Java. Hoping to be directly employed in the Tuban Grass Root Refinery (GRR) project, they kept noble dreams.

One of the scholarship recipients is Tin Khoirinnatul Musyarofah or familiarly called Inna (22 years old). Inna originally wanted to apply for Sekolah Tinggi Administrasi Negara (STAN). Another option, she wants to go to college majoring in pharmacy. However, this residents of Wadung Village finally chose to take the D-III scholarship for Politeknik Energi dan Mineral (PEM) Akamigas Cepu from PT Pertamina Rosneft Pengolahan dan Petrokimia (Pertamina Rosneft).

"Originally, I wanted to go to S1. I took the STAN test and the Joint Entrance Selection for State Universities (SBMPTN) for the Department of Pharmacy at Universitas Negeri Jember. But disaster hit, which changed my study plan so I took D-III PEM Akamigas," said Inna.

In 2019, Inna's sister passed away. After the departure of her brother, Inna became the fulcrum of hope for her parents who worked as farmers and odd jobs. He also left the student admission process at Universitas Negeri Jember, even though she had passed the SBMPTN and had even re-registered.

"When I was declared qualified to get a scholarship from Pertamina, I chose to take it because I thought that as the only child, my parents' hopes rested on me. This scholarship can lead me to realize my parents' happy dreams," she said.

Now after two years has passed, Inna can't wait to dedicate her knowledge to Pertamina Rosneft as a scholarship provider, by joining as a worker in the Tuban Grass Root Refinery (GRR) project. If she is accepted in the future, Inna has a noble plan, which is to save her salary to send her 50-plus-year-old parents to hajj.

It's different with Budi Hermanto (21 years old). Departing from the family background of farm workers, this resident of Mentoso Village had thought that his education level would only end up in Vocational High School (SMK).

Therefore, when he heard about the registration for D3 PEM Akamigas scholarship from Pertamina Rosneft, he saw an opportunity to change the fate of himself and his family. The opportunity was felt to be a great boon after his name was on the list of scholarship recipients.

As the first child in his family, Budi understands that he will be the fulcrum of his parents in the future. Now that he is entering the last year of D3 PEM Akamigas education, he hopes that he can contribute a lot as a Pertamina Rosneft worker in the future.

"When it was announced that I received the scholarship, I was very grateful. If I am accepted to work at the GRR Tuban refinery, of course, I will use my salary to make my parents happy. I want to go on hajj for my parents, open a business, and give alms," said Budi.

Meanwhile, Tedy Putra Pratama, a scholarship recipient from Rawasan Village, is motivated to pursue scholarships to make parents happy. Born to a father and mother who worked as building coolies and clothing merchants, the 21-year-old was eager to make his fathers happy in a simple way: to repair their cement-based homes.

"That was first, and then saving money to dispatch the elderly to go on the hajj. I was excited to take this scholarship after hearing your advice. He wanted me to mean it, so that I could raise my parents. The son of a coolie who can become a Pertamina worker," he said.

For Tedy, being a Pertamina worker raises hope for a better future, which inspires his peers to actively seek knowledge and pursue opportunities. "A lot of kids in my village think: what do you do if you end up being a coolie. With this scholarship, I want to prove that country children can go to college and become successful people!"

Pertamina Rosneft Corporate Affairs Yuli Wahyu Witantra said that the recipients of the D-III study scholarship at PEM Akamigas don’t need to worry about their future, because after they graduate, they will immediately be absorbed into workers in GRR Tuban project.

"Indeed, the ultimate goal of the scholarship program is to empower potential young people living around the project site to have the skills to become Pertamina Rosneft workers. This is part of our commitment to develop and absorb local workers," he said.

Yuli said that the scholarship program is aimed at increasing the capacity of residents around the project site to be a driver of sustainable economic growth in their respective villages. Until now, Pertamina Rosneft has involved 1,220 local workers in the land clearing process starting from phase I to phase IV.

About Pertamina Rosneft

Pertamina Rosneft, or PRPP, is a joint venture between Pertamina Group and Russian giant energy Rosneft, which is the executor of construction of GRR Tuban refinery. GRR Tuban is a National Strategic Project  to supply fuel and petrochemical raw materials to realize national energy and industrial security

GRR Tuban Project is a new oil refinery construction program integrated with petrochemical refineries to realize the country's energy security. In addition to fuel products, GRR Tuban Refinery aims to produce petrochemical products of 2820 kilo tons per year, and paraxylene of 1300 kilo tons per year. The refinery, which has a processing capacity up to 300 thousand barrels per day, will be one of the largest refineries owned by Pertamina

GRR Tuban project is carried out by upholding the principle of Corporate Social Responsibilitiy (CSR) which includes four main pillars: Education, Health, Environmental Preservation and Social Independence. The CSR program at GRR Tuban aims to help people in the area around refinery to realize a life of independence, dignity, and local wisdom. For three years (2019-2021), the company's CSR program reached IDR 23 billion which was given to 20,718 people and 106 organizations around the project.