Only a bigger brother would do something like Pogacar did for Del Toro today. 🥰 You can also bet he will sacrifice stage wins to help Torito finish on the final podium in Paris. Nobody can hate Pogi for this, he has a big heart for his loyal teammates. #TDF2026
Fulfilling a legal contract is a no-brainer. Contract comes with obligations. It’s not even interesting to debate this.
What is interesting is this: regulation does not descend from the sky. It is a product of human design. And what is designed can and must be redesigned when it no longer serves its purpose.
My point is simple: the policy needs rethinking. Because in its current form, it does not optimise long-term national benefit.
Invoking the word “integrity” sounds virtuous. But integrity is not that shallow. Returning home does not automatically “demonstrate” moral superiority. Some return out of conviction. Some return because they have no other option. That reality does not diminish anyone, but it also should not be romanticised.
I am not interested in judging individual character. I am interested in whether current lpdp policies maximises our people’s wellbeing in a long run.
I argue, it doesnt.
“Kalau patriot, pulang.” Dalam konteks riset global, cara berpikir seperti ini sangat tidak menguntungkan negara sendiri. Sangat sedikit orang Indonesia yang berhasil mendapatkan posisi akademik permanen di UK. Dari sekitar hanya 30–40 permanent academics Indonesia di UK (hampir tidak ada yang berasal dari jalur LPDP (in fact, saya pribadi tidak mengenal satupun). That is a very sad number for a country this "big".
Hampir tidak mungkin mendapatkan posisi permanen di universitas di UK; apalagi Russell Group univs; tanpa memiliki portfolio postdoctoral yang sangat kuat. Persaingannya terlalu brutal. If you disappear for 2–3 years after your PhD, you are immediately out of the market.
Negara-negara seperti China, India, dan bahkan Iran justru memanfaatkan diaspora akademiknya. Mereka menjadi:
– jembatan hibah riset internasional
– co-supervisor doktoral
– pintu masuk kolaborasi laboratorium
– penghubung industri dan universitas
– agen soft power budaya dan bahasa
Akhirnya mendongkrak kualitas dan ranking universitas mereka.
Nilai hibah riset yang mengalir melalui jaringan ini seringkali jauh melampaui investasi beasiswa ±2 miliar rupiah per orang. Walaupun itu mahal, but in the global research landscape, that is a small number. A UK-based Indonesian academic who wins Newton Fund / ISPF grants with Indonesian collaborators (I know a few) can easily bring back 2X that amount into the country within a year.
Saya sendiri tidak pernah mendapatkan beasiswa pemerintah manapun. Saya harus bekerja paruh waktu untuk menyelesaikan S2 dan S3. But I do feel a certain sadness melihat bagaimana kita belum mampu mendukung orang-orang kita untuk berjaya diluar.
Those who won LPDP scholarships are most likely more intelligent and more competent than I ever was. But many of them never got the chance to become globally competitive scientists. That is the part that makes me sad. We still think in zero-sum terms: as if one person flourishing abroad automatically means the country loses.
A country is strong ONLY when individuals flourish, wherever they are!
Yang perlu kita benahi adalah manajemen beasiswanya: pastikan yang mendapatkan memang benar-benar PANTAS. Sentimen negatif yang begitu kuat ini adalah pertanda adanya kecurigaan bahwa sistemnya tidak sepenuhnya adil. That is what needs to be fixed.
Nobody goes to a football match booing the best players. People root for those who truly deserve to be on the field. Scholarship awardees who genuinely earn it will be supported. They will be celebrated. Dan jika seseorang bisa memenangkan posisi postdoc di universitas bergengsi, dalam sistem yang sangat kompetitif, itu sendiri adalah bukti bahwa dia pantas.
Go on, champ! We’re proud of you.
442 dead and 402 missing.
What happened across Sumatera was never just nature. These are symptoms of systemic wounds, and it demands structural repairs. Nothing less.
My deepest condolences to all families affected.
May recovery come swiftly.
It's all Norway all day! Your 2025 IRONMAN World Championship Men's Pro podium...
🥇Casper Stornes🇳🇴 7:51:39
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