“Keep Getting Better”—this is Dr. Wahyudi Agustiono’s motto for life, and it has served him well.
Growing up in Indonesia, Dr. Wahyudi observed how wealth and family background gave some people easy access to all the resources they need to succeed in life, while those less privileged—like Dr. Wahyudi himself—only had themselves, and their education to rely on. However, “…education is key…” says Dr. Wahyudi, and the further he delved into his academics, the more doors he opened—doors that would have otherwise been bolted shut.
Dr. Wahyudi graduated with a Bachelor of Information Technology from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, one of Indonesia’s leading universities in the field of science and technology. He then went on to study, teach and research at the University of Trunojoyo Madura, which had been established less than 2 years prior.
That wasn’t the end of Dr. Wahyudi Agustiono’s journey to self-improvement—he received a scholarship to Waseda University in Japan, a leading private research university, and—after completing his master’s degree—he set his sights on Australia. Dr. Wahyudi’s first application for an Australia Awards Scholarship was unsuccessful, but Australia was his dream—the place where he knew he would get what he wanted. So, he tried again—and succeeded.
Australia Awards Alumnus, Dr Wahyudi, received funding from the Australia Awards Alumni Grant Scheme, to further develop MyCorn—an app designed to assist corn farmers in Madura with pest control and monitoring, empowering them to better protect their livelihoods.
Dr. Wahyudi chose to pursue his Doctorate of ICT and Business at Deakin University in Melbourne, but beyond academics, his time in Australia gave him the opportunity to gain real experience and develop international networks. An Australian education is held in high esteem in Indonesia and Dr. Wahyudi’s experience with the Australia Awards Scholarship made him the go-to person when organisations or the government need an expert in his field.
Now back in Indonesia, Dr. Wahyudi uses his vast accumulation of knowledge to distribute the keys of education to those who need it. While continuing his career at the University of Trunojoyo Madura as an Associate Professor, he is also the Customer Success Manager at PT Sentra Vidya Utama, a leading Software as Service Company in the educational technology sector.
In addition to all this, and with funding from the Australia Awards Alumni Grant Scheme, Dr. Wahyudi developed MyCorn—an app designed to assist corn farmers in Madura with pest control and monitoring, empowering them to better protect their livelihoods. This project was greatly inspired by his time in Australia, where he learned about precision agriculture, a management system that aims to increase production and maintain environmental conservation by using technology to collect and share information.
With the growing interest in the MyCorn app, Dr. Wahyudi Agustiono received a follow-up grant from the Australia Awards Alumni Grant Scheme to fund a scaled-up version of the app to include the entire province of East Java.
“This is how we can do better” Dr Wahyudi tells his peers “…teaching and research and getting better.”
To the new awardees of the Australia Awards Scholarship, Dr. Wahyudi has this advice to give:
“This is a journey, you know? Sometimes you get lost. Sometimes you get something good. Sometimes you’re insecure. Just enjoy it, don’t try to master the journey. As long as you know your goals, your destination doesn’t matter. This is hard—this hill, this mountain or river. It’s hard. But if you know your destination, that doesn’t matter. That is the process of you getting better.”
