Nathania Limanto, who goes by "Nia," was born and raised in Surabaya, Indonesia. She studied international communication management in the Netherlands, where she lived and worked for more than 9 years. Ms. Limanto has a diverse work history, including retail sales, a vehicle refinishing company, embassy and education. Ms. Limanto joined her current company, Singhasari SEZ, in 2017. With her diverse international work experience, Ms. Limanto is the Communications and International Relations Manager for Singhasari SEZ. Two of the main projects that she manages are the educational programs and the Social Economic Accelerator Lab project, supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Lokanima (Singhasari SEZ's film and animation entity).

IVLP Impact Award Project: STEMATHON

The STEMATHON project was an innovative STEM Hackathon for 30 elementary school students from 28 schools in the Greater Malang Area, East Java, Indonesia. STEMATHON equipped students to be both present-ready and future-ready generations, considering the emerging job opportunities in STEM fields. Student participants produced nine prototypes and learned how to exhibit and pitch their projects. They were able to sharpen their critical thinking skills, strengthen their creativity and ability in problem-solving, and recognize the basics in programming or coding. In all sessions throughout the three-day workshop, students were encouraged to evaluate, synthesize, and translate ideas into practical solutions for problems and projects. Coaches and facilitators played an important role in honing students' reasoning and inquiry skills. This program was tailored to help young people practice their problem-solving abilities, motivating them to learn and discover their aspirations for the future. Indeed, Nathania successfully raised awareness of STEM throughout the school districts and inspired the students who participated in her project to keep learning how to code and possibly start STEM clubs at their individual schools.

"Maybe you can create similar program but for the teachers, too!" – Project Partner

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Nia was a participant in the IVLP Project Adopting Innovative Technology in the Digital Economy, organized by the U.S. Department of State and FHI 360.

Nia's exchange experience led to the development of her IVLP Impact Award Project: "The inspiration from this project derived from my IVLP program...I learned that in order to accelerate innovation in a country, we need to start education early to spark [students] interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). I remember when visiting a library in Glenn's Ferry, [the students] did all sorts of STEM activities...I was inspired to do a similar activity for the young kids."

U.S. Communities Visited

San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC; Orlando, FL; Boise, ID

"I want the younger generation to have access to STEM so that later in life they can use that experience to decide on what they want to do in life." - Nathania "Nia" Limanto

Country: Indonesia

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