Bangkit: When Tech and Soft Skills Come in One Package
A Story of Fachirah Hestiana Rachmawati, Bangkit 2021 Graduate from Computer Science, Institut Pertanian Bogor
Seeing the significance of soft skills, Fachirah Hestiana Rachmawati (22) didn’t underestimate the power of this complementary competence. Although Ama―that’s what she is called―comes from a computer science background, she understands that to be a ready-to-work tech talent, Ama needs to equip herself with a good grasp of social skills. Therefore, since Ama went to college, she has been actively involved in various organizations that broadened her horizons.“Soft skills get little respect, but they will make or break your career.”(Peggy Klaus, American Author)
Then, amid a mountain of Ama’s activities to hone her technical and social skills, she found Bangkit. She saw this program as a complete package; a well-structured tech curriculum and applicable soft skills. So she didn’t think twice about signing up for Bangkit 2021 then.
Seeing the Importance of Social Skills for Tech Talent
Ama is an 8th-semester student at Institut Pertanian Bogor, majoring in Computer Science. Since beginning college, Ama has understood that a digital talent shouldn’t only be skillful in tech. She knew that to be a talent that stands out from the crowd; Ama needed to equip herself with sufficient soft skills.
To obtain these social skills, Ama was passionate about participating in organizations. She participated in Student Executive Council (BEM) at IPB because leadership was something Ama wanted to dive into. In addition, she loved to enrich herself with knowledge about communications, creative thinking, and teamwork. This made Ama an outstanding student with ample experience in organizations.
The balance between Ama's academic achievement and her agility in social events led her to be a Goodwill International Scholarship awardee. She earned this title in the 5th semester, and since then, Ama has acquired more leadership teachings from Goodwill International Foundation. This scholarship covered Ama’s tuition fee until she graduated later.
In her senior year, Ama got busier with academic activities. First, she taught her 1st-semester juniors about calculus. After that, she became a laboratory assistant in 3 lectures. Ama’s bustle was motivated by her goal to be more ready-to-work tech talent.
While juggling many balls at the same time, Ama found Bangkit. She saw that this program came in one complete package that wouldn’t only be able to shape her into a high-caliber tech talent but also could prepare her to be a high-quality future leader.
Bangkit Offered an Opportunity to Get to Know More about Future Technology
Bangkit’s presence intrigued Ama, especially when she saw that Bangkit was initiated by Google and supported by leading tech companies such as GoTo and Traveloka. Furthermore, it excited her that many Bangkit alumni successfully launched their careers after joining this program. The well-structured curriculum offered by Bangkit also pushed Ama to register without hesitation.
After signing up, Ama was accepted into the Cloud Computing (CC) path. It was exhilarating because Ama had just known that CC is a technology that will benefit in the future. Therefore, Ama was delighted to be one of Bangkit's 2021 CC cohorts.
Being unfamiliar with CC made it difficult for Ama to study in Bangkit at the beginning of the program. However, the excellent support system of Bangkit, which consisted of caring peers and supportive instructors, helped Ama a lot. It made Ama undoubtedly ask her friends or trainers when she faced any obstacles in learning.
“All the learning material I obtained from Bangkit was deeply embedded in my mind because I had an opportunity to implement those teachings into the capstone project.”With her team, Ama created an app that could recommend appealing packaging for SMEs. Ama’s team hoped this innovation could help SMEs compete in the market.
Aspiring to Inspire Women and Dedicate Herself to Child Education
Right after Bangkit, Ama sought opportunities to kick start her tech career. She submitted her application to many companies, then finally, she was hired as Software Engineer Intern at Tower Bersama Group. Ama claimed that the soft skills she had acquired from Bangkit applied to the recruitment process.
“After learning in Bangkit, I felt that the knowledge from this program helped me at work whenever I had to develop my company’s website. For me, Bangkit successfully strengthens my technical skills.”Ama’s passion for learning and achieving more in her career was motivated by one of Bangkit's Contributors, Ibu Cindy Himawan. Ibu Cindy is a Lecturer at ITHB and a Soft Skills Instructor who greatly inspired Ama. Her plan to build a school and dedicate herself to Indonesia’s education encouraged Ama to be as inspiring as Ibu Cindy is.
“What makes me willing to expose myself to learn new things and eager to develop my career is my aspiration to be as inspiring as Ibu Cindy. Like her, someday, I want to empower fellow women not to hesitate to plunge into the IT realm. Seeing children nowadays are very technologically literate, I also want to educate them to develop the technology into something beneficial for many people.”To her juniors in Bangkit 2022, especially female participants, Ama wants them not to waste any good opportunities. She convinces us that a tech career doesn’t only belong to a male. All genders, particularly women, can thrive in tech, just as Ama did.
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