Pengalaman & Tips Mendapat Beasiswa S1 di NTU Singapura

Updated 9 April 2013
Post ini saya dedikasikan untuk teman- teman SMA yang berusaha mencari dan meng'google' mengenai admission dan beasiswa di Nanyang Technological University Singapore.
Saya akan sharing pengalaman dan tips yang hopefully berguna buat kalian. Maaf jika saya menggunakan bahasa Inggris dan Indonesia, karena saya sebenarnya ingin membuat post ini mudah dimengerti, namun kosakata bahasa Indonesia saya memang kurang lengkap. And please, if you are interested to study abroad, you really have to learn English.

Sedikit introduction, Nanyang Technological University adalah satu dari 3 universitas negeri yang dimiliki Singapura, dengan dua lainnya adalah National University of Singapore (NUS) dan Singapore Management University (SMU). Di Singapura juga terdapat banyak sekali universitas swasta lainnya, seperti La Salle, Curtin, SIM, MDIS, James Cook, PSB Academy, etc. Menurut saya pribadi, being enrolled in public university is much better, karena selain lebih diakui dari sisi akademik, kita mempunyai kesempatan untuk bekerja part-time di luar selama bersekolah. Employer disini banyak yang mencari pekerja paruh waktu, baik di industri F&B, hospitality, tourism, packers, SPG event, hingga guru les privat. Biasanya mereka mensyaratkan applicant yang berkewarganegaraan Singapura, Permanent Resident di Singapura, atau student yang bersekolah di sekolah negeri Singapura. Gaji rata-rata lulusan juga umumnya lebih tinggi dibandingkan universitas swasta.

Posisi NTU di QS World ranking saat ini adalah 58. Dibandingkan dengan NUS di posisi 28 bersebelahan dengan University of Manchester, jelas NTU lebih mudah dari sisi admission maupun beban akademiknya. Namun, jika kita bandingkan dengan universitas negeri di negara kita, seperti Universitas Indonesia, ITB dan Universitas Gajah Mada yang tidak dapat saya temukan dalam 200 besar, jelaslah NTU lebih unggul.
Memang soal kualitas pendidikan saya tidak bisa bicara banyak, banyak sekali lulusan universitas di Indonesia yang sukses dan hebat. Karena perlu saya tekankan pada teman- teman, formal education will make you a living, but only self-education will make you a fortune. Apa artinya? Artinya, jika kita ingin mencapai sukses yang kita impikan, pendidikan formal bukanlah satu-satunya kunci, melainkan juga adalah banyak belajar berbagai hal dari berbagai sumber dan pengalaman.

Oke, kita kembali ke keunggulan kuliah di NTU , khususnya Singapura. Pertama, ranking yang diakui dunia, dimana hal ini merupakan bahan consideration tim admission atau scholarship ketika kita hendak melanjutkan ke jenjang pendidikan selanjutnya. Kedua, lokasi, dimana Singapura terletak sangat dekat dengan Indonesia. Hanya 1,5 jam perjalanan dari Jakarta; frekuensi penerbangan yang sangat sering, sehingga harga tiketnya pun terjangkau. Saya pribadi bolak-balik Jakarta-Singapura lebih dari 4 kali setahun, biaya per flight tidak pernah lebih dari 1 juta rupiah. Ketiga, mempertimbangkan Cost Benefit Analysis, kuliah di Singapura relatif lebih murah dibandingkan kuliah di Australia, Eropa, maupun Amerika. Saya mengambil angka pada umumnya, dimana siswa membayar full tuition fee dan hidup sewajarnya, berdasarkan info dari teman-teman yang kuliah di ketiga benua tersebut, Australia (Sydney): 35 juta rupiah per bulan, Eropa (Belanda): 20 juta rupiah per bulan, Amerika (San Fransisco): 60 juta rupiah per bulan.

Sedangkan untuk kuliah di NTU Singapura, biaya per bulan sekitar 25 juta rupiah jika membayar full, tapi kebanyakan siswa disini mengambil skema "tuition grant" sehingga orangtua cukup merogoh kocek sekitar 10 juta per bulan. Tuition grant adalah skema pemerintah yang mensubsidi 70% dari biaya sekolah, sebagai gantinya, siswa diwajibkan ikatan kerja selama 3 tahun di Singapura. Biaya yang relatif murah ini tidak berarti kualitas dan pengalaman yang ditawarkan lebih buruk dibanding benua lain. Singapura adalah negara yang sangat multikultural, di NTU sendiri, kita bisa berteman dan mengenal banyak sekali orang dari negara dan kultur yang berbeda. Mulai dari China yang jumlahnya mendominasi, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Jepang, Amerika, Kanada, Swedia, Belanda, Jerman, Swiss, Inggris, Perancis, Mexico hingga Afrika Selatan. Situasi yang sangat kondusif untuk belajar langsung beradaptasi dan bergaul dengan global citizens. Keempat, penggunaan bahasa Inggris dan Mandarin sehari-hari. Saya sendiri mau tidak mau jadi belajar dan akhirnya bisa mengerti bahasa Mandarin. Untuk semakin melengkapi, saya pun belajar bahasa Jerman dan Prancis, dan untungnya, disini pun bisa langsung kita praktekkan ke native speaker, seperti teman atau profesor kita.

Pendaftaran masuk NTU umunya dibuka sekitar bulan Oktober, dimana teman-teman harus mengirimkan aplikasi berupa form dan fotokopi raport yang dilegalisir. Pendaftarannya online melalui internet, bisa dilihat disini . Untuk tahun ini, aplikasi dapat dikirimkan mulai 1 Oktober 2013 sampai 15 Desember 2013. Link aplikasi adalah sebagai berikut: http://admissions.ntu.edu.sg/UndergraduateIntnlAdmissions/Pages/SMAUAN_apply.aspx. Teman- teman bisa menempatkan 5 pilihan jurusan yang ingin diambil, setahu saya murid Indonesia tidak ada yang masuk jurusan Chinese Medicine dan Maritime Studies, sedangkan untuk jurusan Bisnis dan Chemical Biomedical Engineering cenderung sedikit karena kriterianya sulit. Hasil seleksi raport akan menentukan apa teman-teman bisa mengikuti ujian seleksi masuk. Dari yang saya tahu, raport dengan rata-rata nilai 8 keatas hampir pasti mendapat kesempatan. Untuk menambah kemungkinan lolos seleksi berkas, boleh diikutsertakan sertifikat kompetisi yang pernah diikuti selama SMP & SMA. Surat bukti OSIS atau kegiatan siswa lainnya juga boleh dilampirkan. Ohya, UAN tidak perlu dilampirkan dulu, secara teman-teman masih kelas XII semester 1, rapor kelas X dan XII sudah cukup jadi bukti kemampuan akademis.

Ujian seleksi masuk akan diadakan sekitar Februari di beberapa kota besar, seperti Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, dan Jogjakarta. Bahkan di Jakarta, karena banyaknya peserta, NTU mengadakan ujian di 2 tempat, yaitu SMAK 1 Penabur dan SMA Kanisius. Tidak perlu ke Singapura untuk ikut tes masuknya. Dalam ujian ini,mata pelajaran yang diujikan tergantung dari pilihan jurusan kalian; untuk Engineering & Sciences: A-Level Math, English, A-Level Physics/Chemistry (tergantung jurusannya, eg. Chemical Engineering boleh memilih salah satu, namun Electrical Engineering wajib mengambil fisika), untuk Bisnis: O-Level Math, English, untuk Art, Design, Media: English, portfolio berupa 10 gambar karya pribadi. Info lengkap dapat dilihat disini http://admissions.ntu.edu.sg/UndergraduateIntnlAdmissions/Pages/EntranceExaminations.aspx

Untuk preparation ujian masuk, banyak siswa mengambil kursus A-Level Math, karena jujur saja, lebih sulit dan berbeda dari kurikulum yang diajarkan di Indonesia. Saya dan teman-teman dari Jakarta dulu mengambil les di St. Ignatius. Pengajarnya berpengalaman dan soal try-out yang diberikan sulit-sulit, sehingga kita jadi terbiasa dan merasa soal ujian masuk jadi mudah. St. Ignatius memiliki 2 cabang di Greenville dan Kelapa Gading, ada juga cabangnya di Palembang dan Bandung. Walaupun banyak juga teman- teman yang masuk NTU tanpa belajar A-Level secara khusus, menurut saya akan jauh lebih baik jika kalian ikut kursus; karena tujuan saya dulu bukan cuma diterima, tapi masuk dengan gratis, sehingga saya perlu menginvestasikan extra di awal. Kira-kira Agustus awal, teman-teman sebaiknya mulai belajar dan berlatih supaya mendapat nilai bagus di ujian masuk, terutama untuk subjek matematika. Nah, untuk apa mendapat nilai sebagus mungkin?

Beberapa lama setelah tes masuk, kalian akan menerima surat penerimaan atau penolakan. Sifatnya final alias tidak bisa diganggu gugat. Surat penerimaan dibagi menjadi 3 macam yaitu penerimaan dengan biaya studi full (sekitar SGD 30,000 per tahun), penerimaan dengan tuition grant (sekitar SGD 10,000 per tahun, ikatan kerja 3 tahun), dan penerimaan dengan interview beasiswa (dimana siswa berkesempatan mendapatkan beasiswa full, jika gagal, maka dapat masuk dengan skema tuition grant). Email yang kalian terima harus dibalas dalam jangka waktu yang ditentukan, karena jika tidak, kalian dianggap menolak dan posisinya akan diberikan untuk orang lain. Ohya, jika kalian diterima dengan tuition grant tapi masih keberatan secara finansial, ada skema Tuition Fee Loan dimana biaya sekolah bisa dibayarkan dahulu dan kita bisa membayar kembali setelah lulus, dengan bunga yang rendah. Untuk jelasnya bisa dilihat disini http://admissions.ntu.edu.sg/UndergraduateAdmissions/FinancialAssistance/Pages/TuitionFeeLoan.aspx

Jika kalian mendapat nilai bagus untuk tes masuk, kalian akan dipanggil untuk interview beasiswa. Pada 2 tahun yang lalu, interview dilaksanakan di Kedutaan Singapura, dekat Ritz Carlton. Interviewer nya antara lain Dean of Admissions, Dean of Scholarship & Financial Aid, Dean of School of Sciences (jurusan pilihan saya), dan satu lagi saya tidak ingat. Supaya sukses dalam interview, berikan impresi yang baik pada interviewer, caranya antara lain: berdoa, berpakaian yang rapi dan formal (blazer dan pantofel termasuk, tunjukkan keseriusan dan profesionalitas walaupun kalian masih SMA), persiapan yang baik sehingga kita bisa menjawab semua pertanyaan yang diajukan tanpa berpikir lama atu bergumam karena bahasa inggris yang kurang lancar, banyak tersenyum, jangan tegang dan be yourself!

Pertanyaan yang diajukan pada umumnya mirip, yang saya rasa teman-teman bisa tebak, seperti "Why do you apply to NTU? Do you apply to any other university?", "Why do you choose this major?", "Who is your personal hero and why?", "What are your experiences regarding leadership or organization?", "What are your strengths and weaknesses?", " How do you handle conflicts?", "Have you ever live in foreign country? If not, how do you think you will do that?", "What are your plans after graduation from university?" -> Kalian bisa lihat bahwa mereka mau orang yang visioner dan punya tujuan hidup, apapun bentuknya, dan " What scholarship do you want and why do you think we should give you the scholarship?". These are some questions I tackled, there may be different ones, you should prepare to answer more. Untuk interview beasiswa, pastikan interviewer mengerti poin apa saja yang ingin kalian sampaikan. Tampilkan kesan bahwa kalian membutuhkan beasiswa tersebut, tapi dengan didukung oleh pribadi kalian yang hebat dan bercita-cita tinggi sehingga mereka ingin menginvestasikan uangnya untuk biaya sekolah kalian.

Setelah interview selesai, mereka akan bertanya apa kita punya pertanyaan. Jika tidak, we can be dismissed. Jangan lupa mengucapkan terima kasih dan tersenyum. Dan akhirnya, setelah menunggu beberapa hari, kita akan menerima email hasil dari interview tersebut, dan admission package akan dikirimkan ke rumah kita. Isinya berupa surat penerimaan, buku panduan, dan beberapa lembar brosur aktivitas yang disediakan untuk mahasiswa baru sesampainya kita di Singapura. Dibaca baik-baik dan catat tanggal- tanggal penting, supaya kalian tidak miss deadline.

Wah, kalau sudah sampai tahap ini, kalian akan mengalami babak baru dari hidup kalian. Banyak senior dari Pelajar Indonesia NTU (PINTU) yang akan menyambut dan membimbing disini. Banyak hal baru yang akan memungkinkan kalian bertumbuh jadi orang yang lebih hebat dan dewasa. See you in NTU!

Insights from Minor in Entrepreneurship

About Marriage
From what I heard from the lecturers, some of the most innovative and aspiring young men, they seemed to be skeptical about marriage. There are few disadvantages of marriage for entrepreneur such as lack of freedom to be a risk-taker (since he/she has a family to support financially), difficulties in finding time (since the first priority should be the family), and no room for failure (once the business fail, the house may be sold, the children may postpone school, or even worse, the wife may leave). I must admit this is quite true. However, there are more good sides than bad sides of it, in case we marry a right person. Imagine we were tired after negotiation for a huge tender, and not sure about the result; it would be great to have spouse who hugged, saying everything will happen according to God’s plan, and pray for us. Imagine we were super-excited after doing a great presentation and winning a million-dollar-project; it would be great to call someone who will shout and be even more excited than us. They are people we share our life with, our journey, and our destiny. They will not forbid or prevent us from achieving our visions and dreams, but they will support and help us achieving those. For me, this is the purpose of marriage, being together forever with the one from God who are excited about your visions and dreams, vice versa. From what I learned in a Psychology class, married men are fairly healthier and live longer than those who choose not to marry. For women, this is not the case, the health and life expectation is about the same.
I am sure you’ll find a good one for yourself, if you ask God. God has given one for each of us :)

About Being Nice
One quote that I remembered is “It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.” I strongly agree with this. This is quite similar to another quote I’ve heard: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. By being nice and caring, people will remember us and count us as a friend. This is important because someday, they might have a project and offered us to help, since they trust us. If we need their help, assistance, or information, we can also approach them, and they will regard us as a friend rather than a competitor. However, being nice does not mean being a yes-man. We must be assertive and able to voice out our opinion, without offending others. I really respect nice people, those that hold the door for a person behind, those who pick up garbage (not theirs) and throw it away, those who greet their friends cheerfully, those who offer seats for older people, those who buy tissues from old men at MRTs and streets, those who donate for disaster, the long list goes on... I believe in karma; whatever we do, it will goes back to us.
This somehow relates to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs seek to change the world, doing innovations here and there, improving lives by their products and services. In this sense, entrepreneurs do help people. And through the profits, it goes back to them. By being customer-oriented, they do better and consequently, their sales increase. In any areas, whether good areas like logistics, tuition, school, or “bad” areas like casino and prostitution, they all provide their best service for users, they be “nice”. This “niceness” is going to make them important. One example could be TATA; it is trying to raise a generation of young leaders through its programmes and competitions. As a result, the company become renowned and gain trust from communities as well as youth.

About Friendship
I fostered good friendship with my minor in entre teammates. Since this module encouraged learning, I purposely find things to learn from my teammates. One of my teammate is very straightforward, she speak whatever she has in mind. From her, I learn to be more communicative. I voiced out my opinions and make sure the decisions taken are logical and well-calculated. The other one is funny and friendly, he throws jokes. There is one really good and fast in calculation, I always ask him to sum up the market size and everything. And there's a very nice girl, she constantly asks “What can I help?”. I really appreciate that. Though I have not worked with them before, I enjoyed the module together with them. This taught me not to judge a book by its cover, not to decide and make assumptions before really understand a person. When we don’t know a person, it is impossible to like or love them. Vice versa, we should not dislike or hate a person we don’t know.

About Motivation
Lots of seniors said that certain module is very tough; there will be lack of sleep and more conflict. Less slack, more crack. I personally feels it is not as stressful as it was described. Yet to go through the difficulties, such as preparing for VC fair and presentation, reading through the extensive manual, we all need motivation. There are two types of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is from outside of ourselves, such as grades, money, fame, and position. Intrinsic motivation is from inside, such as personal satisfaction, autonomy, purpose fulfillment, and mastery of skills. I am very sure that intrinsic motivation is the key to survive, persevere, and finally succeed. It is true that grades and money will make people work hard day and night, there is not much difference in the process of achieving; they all seem to be striving. Yet from what I learn, those whose motivation is extrinsic, tend not to be as happy and contented when the goal is achieved. For a while, maybe, but not for a long time. Once we get the grades, money, and fame, that’s it. So what? In this situation, people start being stressful. They’ll finally know that all those things are not everything. They are not happy. Even worse, they start doing illogical things, buying handphone made of gold and diamonds, having 10 sport cars in the garage while only 3 people staying in the house, etc. This is what I saw. In the contrary, people who achieve success based on intrinsic motivation, they continues. Once they become very skillful in what they do, they seek to fulfill their purpose even more, There is happiness in whatever they do, and they inspire others along the way.
One example could be Jamie Oliver, a celebrity cook from England. He is very famous in England, he has the skills, fame, money, everything he need. Yet he seek success based on his intrinsic motivation of helping people in America to fight obesity through cooking from scratch. He does it to save lifes. He survive, persevere, and started Food Revolution Movement from Huntington, West Virginia. His journey has not finished. By being successful in doing that, he is very satisfied. But his journey never end, he need actions from all American schools, homes, and regulators to continue what he started. This brings me to share about destiny.

I strongly believe in destiny. Everyone has a reason of being made. That reason is special, given by the creator, and unique. To know why we are here on earth, we must ask our creator. We may also look at our strength, abilities, interests, and environment; everything is there for a purpose. Based on any motivation book, having clear, written, and confessed goals will enhance probability of achieving that goal. Hence, when we know our purpose, we should write, speak, and develop a plan for achieving it. All these are also related to other people. This purpose will benefit other people in the end.
I have a purpose in life: Bringing glory to God by benefiting others in need through my money, organization, and skills. However, this ‘vague’ purpose does not state what I want to be. It can be entrepreneur, doctor, chemist, social worker, HR manager, sales executive, anything. I have been thinking along the way of entrepreneurship and social worker, in area of language, including foreign language, writing, reading, and entrepreneurship skills. This is how I prepare myself; I joined NTU SIFE (Student In Free Enterprise) to overseas project, I registered as SGCares volunteer, I donate a part of my earning to Soup Kitchen, I learned German language and went for an exchange, I study hard to see more of the world through getting scholarship overseas, I do research project in school about Book and Paper preservation using chemicals, I work part time in library to see how it works, I also work freelance as ghostwriter, I was Head of Media and IT in NTU Indonesian Student Organization and I am saving money specifically for this social thing I am going to do. Through this Minor in Entrepreneurship, I confirm that I will be an entrepreneur; having good products, improve lives, and enjoy doing it. I really enjoy my time in this course.

About Planning
Fail to plan = plan to fail. All success is intended. Big success are never accidental.
These sentences are TRUE. I don’t know which one is true. It is either the demand followed my scratch on tactical plan, or my tactical plan just magically accurate. The projected demand differs less than 10%, which made me kind of wondering about the power of written goals. The tactical plan was developed in quarter 5, after VC Fair, edited here and there. And we achieved it! We even exceeded it by a bit.
From this experience, I learn that written goals, plans, and projections have supernatural powers. It somehow comes true. I guess there is a book called “The Secret” by Rhonda Bryne talking about this. The book mainly focuses on the secret of having positive mindset and thoughts, which will attracts positive things to ourselves. This whole idea of detailed planning and positive thinking related to our business and success in life excites me. I will continue planning and executing things in my life. Big plans, small plans, other people’s plans. Specifically in the field of entrepreneurship, there is business plan. I want to be adept in tailoring business plans. Though I was not born a good planner, I know it is very important and hence, I will strive to have a mental map of my life and plan it well.

Success is when opportunity meets preparation. All people want to be successful, but not many are willing to pay the price. Oh please, my dear friend, get off your lazy ass and prepare.
All the best!!!

Learning from NTU Entrepreneurship Module

For those who wonder about Minor in Entrepreneurship programme in NTU, there are 5 modules in total, spread over 8 months period, with the last one involving starting our own company. It is a highly sought-after program, with proper application and interview for admission. You can find out more here: http://www.ntc.ntu.edu.sg/undergraduateprograms/Pages/MinorinEntrepreneurship.aspx.

I would like to share what I learn from the 4th module, namely Managing New Venture & Business Plan. In order not to spoil the market by sharing tips and trick to win this Marketplace simulation game with my experience along the way, I would just share key-points we all can learn from and take note of.
From every quarter, we have problems of all kind, all sizes and coming from all sort of circumstances. When we face troubles or questions that can’t be solved by our team, we must be bold to ask for help. This is not shameful as everyone needs help and guidance. Although the solutions may turn out to be all bad, we must be able to choose the best among the worst. This is the art of making decision, especially business decisions which have monetary value impact. Like for our case, if the production cost is realy higher than price willing to pay (due to low production volume), I personally think we should sell according to price willing to pay. Customer is the king, and since we know the key is in increasing volume to achieve economies of scale, we must direct our efforts to increase volume, even if the only way to do it is by making losses in the first quarters. High risk, high investment, high return. Bearish or bullish, we will find out later.

A major problem we faced was the lack of cash; we actually planned to expand our production capacity, yet we did not have enough cash to do that. After calculated the projected demand, we were even more surprised that our current capacity would not be able to serve the expected demand at certain quarter.
We were not able to solve this, which could be seen in more than 20% stockout result. From this, I learn that there are many many factors that potentially reduce company’s performance. It is just overwhelming when we overlook one of them, and suddenly, disaster happen. From brand, price, ads, competitors, sales offices, sales people, production capacity, leftover inventories, and market research data; all are important. Our brand, price, and ad judgement should be the highest. If it’s not, improve or learn from competitor. As our main selling point was the sales people, we should have more of them in various places to sell our products. Market research data should be studied carefully to forecast demand which affects production scheduling. Leftover inventories can be salvaged or sold at higher price than competitors, the latter is to avoid further stockout on these unwanted products.

Again; we must learn from past mistakes, find present help and cooperation from VC’s and competitor, as well as do planning for future. Cash is super crucial in a company, though income looks high, without cash at hand we cannot do anything. That’s why we fell into loanshark who lend us so that we have at least $1 in our cashflow. Another thing I learned was not to be afraid of loan. I have always avoided loan, because I know that I’ll be paying more than I should. Now, I understand that it only applies to consumer loans. For business loans, if there’s an opportunity to expand and make more money than the sum of loan with interest, this loan is HEALTHY for the business.

In terms of seeking cooperation with competitors, a guy in our team liaised with 3 other teams. We agreed to share R&D facilities to all members of alliances. This agreement was verbally made; there were no signature or any form of legal documents involved. Here I spot a mistake. In real life, every agreement and contract must be written and signed, thus there is a proof in case anyone breach the clauses. Although we are friends, our business is a separate entity, all things shall be clear and formal.

From VC Fair, I learned that in meeting VC, it boils down to our communication skill, how we negotiate etc. It is one thing to have a profitable and sustainable business; it is another thing to let the VCs know and believe it. As for my personal growth, I commit to make time for watching TED talks and pitches, and repeat or retell them. Our team get moderate score in this exercise, which I believe; if we’re in the real world, there is minute probability these VCs will inject fund to our company. If we were to restart, our team will be more prepared, do more accurate and optimistic projections, and make sure everyone in the team have the business and financial knowledge needed to convince VCs.

After getting enough funds and data, we move forward with logics and careful measures. But to our experience, no matter how calculative and research-based we operate, there is always a risk of not meeting projection or even exceeding projection. Indra and I spent quite a long time looking into market research data, summed the total market size for a year, divide them by 4, put in pessimistic projections since quarter 6 is ‘not so good’, and divide them by number of competitors in the segment. This turned out to be wrong, as we were the market leader with higher percentage of market share compared to our competitiors. What we can do is to project as realistic as possible based on market research data, put in a bit optimistic view according to our targeted market share (not just divided it by number of competitors), and work it out by improving marketing efforts and sales channels.

Last but not least, our production capacity was smaller than our projected total demand. Problem, again! There is no way for us to quickly enlarge capacity, as reselling is not permitted. So we just maximized that capacity to produce our main best-seller product. And use the rest to produce Traveller product. We agreed on cutting the production of Traveller, considering number of players in the market. Other strategies we incorporated was to pay back all loans, to make our financial performance better, which is a right way to go. Our balanced scorecard was the best among all teams! Market share was not our main target anymore. Now I understand the importance of being balance. All aspects of business must be well taken care of. It is useless if our market share is 100%, but our asset management is bad, for example. We either stockout often, which harm company’s reputation in the long-run; or we overestimate demand and have countless unwanted inventories.

From this very last quarter, I learn that business is all about balance. Every single detail is important. Someone who is careless and not perfectionist, will not be able to compete well. To avoid making mistakes or overlooking details, there are few ways. We can have a mentor or advisor to oversee, a good assistant or colleague to remind, a manual or list of things that we often forget, a good communication between team members and last but not the least, enough sleep. Why enough sleep? Enough sleep allows our brain to rest and works better the next day. Too much work is not good for physical and mental health. We all know that, keep the balance in check. Listen to our loved ones; they may complain and give us advises which we should listen to, because they care about us. Be spiritual, do prayer, meditation, yoga, or anything, to help balancing ourselves. Friendship is also important. Win or lose, friendship is not affected. We all became more bonded and close to each other, ready for the next journey ahead.

One more thing, if I am to re-do the last quarter, I would expand more production capacity. That was our team’s biggest mistakes. If only we had enough capacity, I am very sure we could get at least 50 % of total overall market share. We have the product, price, and sales people ready, it was only the capacity, or else we could go to all five segments and spoil the market with low price in this last quarter. Yup, but there’s no use crying over spilt milk. We experience, we learn, and we will share.

How to Heal Broken Heart

God can heal a broken heart, but He has to have all the pieces.


It is bad enough when a stranger or foe betrays you, but when it is someone you believed to be a close and trusted friend or partner, it is especially hurtful. You would not expect to be hurt so badly from someone you thought you could trust. So you are left in disbelief and unbelievable pain.

Anyone who has experienced betrayal in a relationship knows how difficult it is to recover from such an experience. The person you thought you could trust and count on is no longer the person you believed them to be. You may wonder what had happened.

There are many reasons that cause people to betray one another. Sometimes they are very deliberate and intended to hurt the other person. And sometimes they are consequences of choices that are made with no intention of doing any harm to anyone. Looking out for one’s own best interests can cause some people to disregard relationships they once valued. They may feel the relationship is in the way or not as important anymore. Feelings change. And as feelings change so do one’s actions and choices. An individual that feels their needs are not being met in a relationship might feel that the relationship is no longer important or worth investing in. Therefore, they might seek to get their needs met elsewhere. This changes the relationship. Eventually, it grows apart and opportunities for betrayal emerge.

In emotional trauma, we try to make sense of our pain. We can be tempted to respond to this rejection in unhealthy ways. We can develop a contempt for ourselves, a contempt for others, a contempt for God, or a combination of these three.

In self-contempt, we take full responsibility of the failure of the relationship. We wonder, what is it about me that makes my loved one to leave me? Doubts of our own beliefs, appeareance, personality, or ability start to emerge. We might think that there is something so repulsive in us that no one can love us. In the long run, this will decrease self esteem and confidence. Contempt for others is another response we use to make sense of our pain. It holds the other party as fully responsible for the dynamics in relationship. We view them as evil and when people asked us, we’ll say “ It’s all their fault”. We might put distance to others and avoid close relationship as we believe that no one can be trusted. Contempt for God blames Him for our pain. We reason that if He is in control of our lives and He loves us, why didn’t He protect us from such hurtful experience? Those who have been rejected or abused by parents as children, may tend to blame the sovereign God for their sufferings. Feeling of rejection, discouragement and loss may cause us to doubt that God loves us.

At first, these contempts for ourselves, others, and God works. It helps maintain the façade that we have everything under control because we assume we know the “reason” of the pain. We then go on with our lives, fixing what we can about ourselves and keeping everyone (including God) at a distance. We refuse to believe that we are not in control and we may be hurt again.
We are afraid, because to love again we must risk being vulnerable and admit that we do care and admire, no matter how hard we try to numb our hearts. When we are at this end of the rope, contempt no longer works for us.

Instead, we can choose a better way to deal with life, letting others get close to us and learning to trust again. For me, the first step is through the process of grieving. Grief will lead us down the path to restore our faith, hope, and opening ourselves to love. Grieving is important because it provokes us to cry out to God, and thereby to open ourselves to His healing. Psalm 34:17 says” The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.”. Jesus is the ultimate source of comfort and protection. He is our refuge and strength (Psalm 61:3).

When we grieve, we face the truth that we have been deeply hurt and there is something lacking, a hole in our hearts. It may not feel like it at first, but healing begins when we face the disappointment of the loss of our hopes and dreams. We usually tend to avoid our feeling of sadness because we afraid it will consume us, and we will never find comfort. But the truth is this, openness is the start of healing process. If we act in faith and throw ourselves on the Lord in full dependence and cry out to Him, He will be the rock that saves us from overwhelming waves of pain (Psalm 34:18). God’s comfort gives us hope- a renewed hope for brighter future and for love.

Life without hope is not worth living. Romans 15:13 says that God will fill us with hope. The process of growth is difficult because it engages us in agonizing choice between faith and doubt. When doubt comes, we will be tempted to give up. Our previous comtempt will seduce us as we fight through intense emotion of hope and love for the future. As ironic as it may seems, resisting contempt and entering into this dark valley of emotion is the way we see our faith deepen.

When we see our faith deepen and we are reminded of how God is working in our lives, hope grows. Hope motivates us to love, which is the most important element of a Christian (1 Cor 13:13). Love will open our hearts to hear the truth about our strengths and shortcomings (1 Cor 13:6). Love will soften our hearts for others, cultivate forgiveness, and help us face the beams in our eyes before we look at the specks in the eyes of our brothers or sisters (Mat 7:3-5).

We can’t fight this battle alone. We need to talk to strong Christian family or friends who keep reminding us of God’s love for us. It is important to have friends who will give us freedom and support as we grapple with doubts and emotion. Fill our minds with the truth and promises of God that will strenfthen us. Unhealthy responses to pain inhibit a life of joy, peace, and love. But responding to pain in a healthy manner, by honestly crying out to God, can strengthen our character, deepen our faith, and allow God to change and heal our hearts. And let’s embrace the truth that God is up to something good in our lives, even in the midst of heartbreak (Romans 8:2)
Col 3:13 says "Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others."
Bitterness comes when you forget God’s grace, which is showered on you each day. This kind of situation can make you bitter, but instead, be joyful because it is also an opportunity. Our plans are broken because God, together with us, will build a bigger and better ones. The heavens open wide for the man that makes God’s word his guiding light.(Psalms 119:130)


Promise of God: Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,all whose thoughts are fixed on you!


This post is dedicated for HR.

Are You Happy with Your Life?

A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, gathered for a visit with their old university professor. The conversation soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in general.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large pot of coffee and an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal - - some plain, some expensive, some quite exquisite. Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh coffee...

When each of his former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to patiently address the small gathering. "You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves - that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems..."

"Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we drink. What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, but you instinctively went for the best cups... Then you began eyeing each other's cups...."

"Now consider this. Life is coffee. Jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the life we live. Often, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that God has provided us... God brews the coffee, but He does not supply the cups. Enjoy your coffee!''

The happiest people don't HAVE the best of everything; they just MAKE the best of everything...

Post-Exam Entertainment

So this was my list of what-to-do after exam and before my departure to Germany (20 n 21 May):

1. Clean-up my room and pack-up my stuffs. I have lots of stuffs,they are now in 3 huge bags, like 80x60x30 cm size! Books,paper and stationaries are in 2 medium cardboard boxes. I separate them because I dont want those heavy books damage my lovely bags.
2. Watch the movie: HOME and JESUS . Both are super great, impactful! The Jesus film is classic 2-hour movie and offered in more than 1,000 languages. I found it accidentaly when I googled for Jesus. Yeah; nowadays, when you wanna know about someone or something, you google it, as simple as that. Just try to find the right keyword to express what you want.
3. Study in ALISON. What is it?! I was surfing the net for writing jobs when I found these courses on writing. As I am interested in taking such courses, I browse deeper and the fees was like 400 GBP! For an online course, that's expensive. Hence I googled for Free Online Writing Course, which reflected this ads, Alison free online course . Few minutes after looking through, I bookmarked it. It is simply good resource for those who want to learn, you don't even have to pay. And the quality of teaching is good as well. I am proud to say that I just acquired Diploma in Social Media Marketing :D
4. Purchase a digital camera and backpack for my Eurotrip. I bought this camera for S$160!
It is a Canon Ixus 100 IS, bought from a seller in gumtree.sg, and with recommendation of my friend, Agus. The dimension is very tiny, only about 8x5 cm; with gold hued body, it is perfect for travel purpose. For the backpack, I bought this Billabong backpack at Raffles City. Billabong bags are of good quality, extremely strong and durable. That's why I like it. This new design is enhanced with laptop cushion, pockets inside, and waterproof material.
5. Last but not least, I plan to write for this blog. I'm writing 3 posts today, though I feel it's still not enough. I always want to post more, yet no time to write. I wanna write about my God and his mighty works, about my work and supervisor in library, about Schengen visa application, about my struggles, about my exams, and the list goes on. I love writing, and it was my first career option result in the Harrisson Assesment. Yeah, I am not going to pursue it full-time, but I just want to give more focus into it and polish my skills so it can be better used for His kingdom.

Have a nice and fruitful holiday everyone!

Choosing The Right Partner For Life

In this sermon, Ps Kong Hee explains what makes a relationship work and what should we look for when choosing a life partner. The key to choosing the right partner is to look for a person with good character, not simply good personality. A relationship may be likened to a cake, where personality is the icing, and the character, the substance.
When you are deciding whether a person is right for you, instead of asking: "Does my partner love me?" You need to ask, "How capable is my partner of loving?". If he has anger problem, hasn't "grown up", can't be firm with overbearing parents or hasn't recovered from previous relationships, he is incapable of loving you. Period.

Quality #1: Commitment to personal growth.
This comes first because it is the most important trait. If you can find someone who is committed to his personal growth, you are already halfway to a great, happy marriage. Commitment to personal growth means:
a) your partner is committed to God's Word and a godly lifestyle. You want a partner who is on-fire and sold-out to Jesus, growing steadily in spiritual maturity on a daily basis. The Word of God is the answer for all life's problems. You don't want to be unequally yoked with a potential spouse who doesn't share your dedication to the Lord.
b) your partner is willing to receive help and guidance. Help in the form of books, tapes, sermons, and if necessary, counseling. Proverbs 12:1 says that you must want to be taught in order to learn. Because by the time you face a crisis in your marriage, and you realize that your mate is too lazy to learn how make it works, it is often too late.
c) your partner is conscious of his blind spots and emotional handicaps. It is dangerous to become involved with someone who is oblivious to his own weaknesses. James 5:16 says that to see healing of painful wounds, we need to admit our faults to one another and pray for each other.
d) your partner is setting personal goals for real change. In other words, you can see, specific, positive changes in him over time. It is important to find someone who is not only interested in growing, but is doing something about it.

Quality #2: Emotional openness.
Emotional openness is a vital trait because it gives you access to his soul. If your partner can't identify and share his feelings with you, he's not ready to be in an intimate relationship. Staying in a relationship with a person who cannot share feelings is a form of self-punishment. You need to believe God for someone who can show you love and appreciation on a consistent basis.

Qaulity #3: Integrity.
This means consistency of character. Your actions match your words. Your choices match your vision. Your behaviours match your beliefs.
a) Honest with himself: he is not self-deceptive.
b) Honest with others: he is not cheating, evading taxes, hiring illegal workers, stealing office supplies, run across the road when the light is red, litter when no one is watching, etc.
c) Honest with you: he is not playing games with your feelings.

Quality #4: Maturity and responsibilty. There are people who just aren't ready to be in a committed relationship. They may be very loveable, but if they haven't reach a certain level of maturity, you will feel you have adopted a child rather than a lover.
a) He can take care of himself. If your partner has grown up sufficiently, he should be able to earn enough money to support himself, keep his bedroom relatively clean, know basic personal hygiene, etc. Our outward life is a reflection of our inward life.
b) He is responsible. Maturity doesn't come with age; it comes with the acceptance of responsibility. Your word is your bond-paying bills on time, keeping promises, punctuality, etc.
c) He is respectful. Men don't behave badly in public places. See how respectful is he of your boundaries, time, possessions, and other people's feelings.

Quality #5: Healthy self-esteem. Your partner can only love you as much as he loves himself. The healthier your partner's self-esteem, the stronger your relationship will be.
a) He knows who he is in Christ.
b) He doesn't abuse himself, but takes good care of himself. You can tell how someone feels about himself by observing how he treats himself, the way he takes care of his body, his clothes, his car, and his possessions. If he mistreats himself, he won't mind mistreating you either.
c) He doesn't allow others to abuse him. Christian meekness doesn't mean you purposely let others take advantage of you continually.
d) He takes action in his life. A person with low self-esteem is usually a procrastinator, because he is scared of failing and feeling worse about himself.

Quality #6: Positive attitude toward life. Positive people create positive relationships. That is why falling in love with a negative person is as much fun as listening to someone slowly scratching his fingernails across a blackboard! Love is positive. It shrinks in negative atmosphere. When you are with positive person, relationship is much easier, more love, less blame, and more cooperation.

Quality #7: Personal chemistry. How does one define personal chemistry? It is very hard. You either feel it or you don't. But one thing is certain: personal chemistry is needed in order to distinguish your relationship from a friendship. A word of caution: personal chemistry doesn't have to be instant. Gradual attraction is usually more genuine because you are not just focusing on the physical looks, but the whole person. You can't have a healthy, lasting, romantic relationship with someone you aren't attracted to. In this case, you are setting yourself to cheat on that person eventually.
You can't create personal chemistry. The lost spark can be regained by the grace of God, through counseling or books. However, if you never felt personal chemistry to your partner even after reasonable period of seeing each other, don't proceed! Personal chemistry is vital, but must be balanced by the first six qualities earlier.

Hey, Are You Feeling Stressed?

Tackling Exam Stress
- Start revision early.
- Stick to your revision timetable.
- Set realistic targets by knowing your strengths and weaknesses.
- Do not hesitate to seek help when in doubt.
- Be confident and do not forget your daily quiet time.

Staying Positive
- Believe that you can face any challenge. Though you can't, Jesus can, so keep Him inside you.
- See positive side of any situation. There is always opportunity in crisis.
- Mistakes are learnt from failures. Though learning from other people's mistakes is better...just take the lesson and move on.
- Be strong, remember you're in good hands of God and His plans are higher than yours.

Managing Anger
- Do not use hurtful words. Simply walk away.
- Take a deep breath (breathing from tummy instead of chest) and pray that your joy would not be taken by the devil.
- Think through the problem and resolve it calmly and rationally.
- Apologise for any mistakes.
- Rebuke the actions and mistakes, not the person.
- Forgive and forget their mistakes, just like what Jesus had done to us.

De-stressing and Relaxing
- Talk to God, family, or friends.
- Exercise or play games with friends.
- Go for a movie or read your favourite book.
- Clean up your room/house and decorate it with your favourite theme.
- Indulge in a complete bath experience. Soap, scrub, mask, shampoo, conditioner, face exfoliant, mouthwash, hair-trimming, lavender aromatherapy, perfecto!
- Have enough sleep.

Friends, this is actually coping strategies I adopt to deal with some stressors in life. Hopefully these may help you to cope with yours too!

My Birthday Resolution

Two days from now and it would be my 19th birthday. It is special knowing that I would be leaving my teenage years and stepping into another exciting chapter of my life.
Okay. So, i will turn nineteen soon. If someone would ask me what is the best way to celebrate a birthday, it is definitely making a commitment to one’s self to become a more socially responsible person, be a person who benefits and blesses others.

I have no idea how this was brought about but i created a Birthday Resolution. The things i have to do BEFORE I be twenty-year-old. These, however simple they may seem, are things i have never done.
So, this year, i want to to do my list. Let me know if you wanna go with me doing the things. Around same time next year i shall post pictures as proof.

The List:

1. Read bible from cover to cover.
I tried it before and I think I stopped somewhere in the Old Testament, thus this time I want to finish it.
2. Pray and fast for 10 days-straight.
3. Grow my waist-long hair back.
I love long hair for its feminity effect, especially if it is silky and shiny. Voila!
4. Go volunteer at Soup Kitchen.
Being caught up in our own lives drama, we forget people with real problems. Give back to society and help fellow woman by feeding the needy.
5. Be a vegetarian.
Eat no meat, fish, milk or egg since I saw the cruelness in killing those animals for food. Besides, raising animals for food contributes more greenhouse gases than all the vehicles in the world. See www.peta.org for detail.
6. Adopt a tree.
Since I can’t plant any tree any where right now, I’ll try to offset carbon footprint by adopting one, or two, at Botanic Gardens. They have a list of about 100 types of trees.
7. Go to Botanical Garden.
8. Take mum to buy a designer bag.
9. Being green by not taking any more plastic bags & straws
Perhaps, the greatest thing to help the environment is to lessen the use of plastics.. or much better, find alternatives for it. Imagine how many years it would take nature to digest plastic straws, bags and mineral water bottles we produce everyday!
10. Go for romantic meals at a restaurant on Dempsey Road.
11. Picnic in the park with my loved ones.
12. Pretend to know someone and engage them in conversation
13. Get into shape (36-24-36)
This is so ideal! I’ll have to work out that waist for sure.
14. Drink aged whisky.
With harsher and darker taste than wine, it is uncommon woman’s drink. And it is good only if it has been at least 10 years in a casket.
15. Save money for needy kids in Cambodia and Indonesia.
It’s not like Angelina Jolie’s example, but we still can help for any amount and this will help providing them with education, healthcare, playground and basic necessities (Cambodia). For just S$30 a year and this will proceed for their education fees (Indonesia).
16. Write a letter with pen to a friend.
In this age of emailing, the feeling of receiving a real letter and its sincerity of handwriting can’t be beaten.
17. Learn more about flight attendant.
Understand this dream job better. Finding a mentor will help to get started.
18. Watch fireflies.
19. Speak proper German.
German is the most widely spoken tongue in Europe, it supports wide range of exchange programs and opportunities to study on scholarship.
20. Compile my own recipe book.
Self-publish my own family favourite recipe book so never have to worry about family’s recipe getting lost over time. Printing some copies of hardcover design may costs cheaper in Jakarta.
21. Swimming at a beach.


My Wishes
NON-TANGIBLE (Personal Wishes)
1. I hope my mom would be healed completely from her oesophagus sickness and able to eat anything anytime. I believe that prayers may help. Her health can really scare me at times, so I really want her to be super-healthy. For my father also, I wish with all my heart he is doing okay. For his business, ministry, health, relationship, marriage, everything; may he succeed in everything. I just admire him, so much.
2. I wish my brother and sister will do well on their studies. I don’t expect honors but I’m sure they’ll live life as a student to the fullest and be salt and light among their friends.
3. I hope I can spend more intimate time with God, spend more money on helping the needy, and fulfill my “10,000 hours” on writing.
4. I wish more people realized and willing to change according to Environmental, Poverty, Hunger, or any other issues. Let’s try to do what we can to make others and the earth better. Save electricity and water, use public transport, eat less processed food, print on both sides, avoid using disposable cutleries and chopsticks, not sending junk mail, adopt a tree, fund a child’s education, donating to disaster, etc. Just some efforts to make this world a better place.
5. For NTU cellgroup family, provided us the chance to be friends and most of us had underwent many things together, I wish that we can all grow to be more like Him each day.
6. My grandpa! I wish he’s happy, healthy, lovely as always. And continue serving God until the end.
7. For Indonesia, my beloved country, may it be strengthened by God. I know He won’t give tribulations more than what we can bear. This is His opportunity to prove what can be shaken and what’s not. Hopefully humanity can’t. May all Indonesians given heart of generosity and compassion, to do to others as we do to ourselves. God loves Indonesia.
TANGIBLE ITEMS
8. A bouquet of fresh flowers. Especially roses, I adore those.
9. A book. Amaze me with your choice.
10. Nice eco-friendly house with huge garden and room for worship.

Amen..