Empowering Young Innovators, Schneider Electric Launches GENERATORS Program In Bandung

Photo: Doc. Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric, global leader of digital transformation in energy management and automation, through Schneider Foundation Indonesia launched the GENERATORS (Innovator Schneider Youth Generation) program for 8th grade teenagers at 75 State Junior High Schools (SMPN) and involved 250 SMPN educators elected throughout Bandung, West Java for the Odd Semester of the 2023-2024 Academic Year.

This program aims to produce excellent students, think innovatively, and have independence in creating a more sustainable future. Schneider Electric through Schneider Foundation Indonesia, collaborates with the Ancora Foundation, Bandung City Education Office, and GenEd (Generation Educators) to carry out this program comprehensively.

The launch of the GENERATORS program is in line with the International Youth Day 2023 themed Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World or Green Skills for the Young Generation: Towards a Sustainable World and is celebrated every August 12 every year.

"The young generation is a leader and innovator in the future for a more sustainable and inclusive world. As an Impact Company, we have a role to start everyone's journey towards a better future, in this case including the younger generation in Indonesia. In line with this year's International Youth Day theme, Schneider Electric has a vision to educate and encourage the younger generation to become superior and innovative in realizing a more sustainable future," said Aswita Wulandari Saragih, Corporate Citizenship Specialist Schneider Electric Indonesia, in a statement, Tuesday 15 August.

According to the United Nations World Agency, UNICEF in 2022, it is estimated that the current population of young people is 16 percent. They are the largest generation and most educated in history and set up twice as many businesses as people with more experience (BP World Agency, Sustainable Development Solutions Network/SDSN). This provides an illustration that future-built efforts should really consider sustainability factors for the next generation.

"The residents of the city of Bandung are dominated by young people who have great potential to become innovators and actors of significant change. In line with the implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum, that the target of educational output is currently building students has 6 profiles of Pancasila Students. Among them are building independence, innovation, creativity, mutual cooperation, diversity, piety, and critical thinking. These values are covered by the Generators program, where we help realize changes in the mindset of students. So that they are able to become agents of change around them from family, RT, RW, and more broadly," said Drs. H. Hikmat Ginanjar, M.Si, Head of the Bandung City Education Office.

Based on this above, the Schneider Electric Foundation has the ambition to train 1 million young people as a form of sustainability action company responsibility or a real company action that is sustainable. One way is to invest in 3 areas, namely Energy Technical Training (ETT)/Egypt Energy Engineering Training, New Skills and Innovation (NSI)/New Skills and Innovation, and Mentoring Program/Program Mentoring.

In ETT activity, from 2017-2023, Schneider Foundation Indonesia together with the Ministry of Education and Culture/Kemdikbud Indonesia and the French Government in the Center of Excellence (CoE) program have revitalized 144 Vocational High School Laboratorys/SMK and had an impact by training 26,434 students throughout Indonesia in the fields of Electricity, Industrial Automation, and New Renewable Energy, along with training for 277 teachers and 125 technicians.

GENERATORS is one of the important parts of Schneider Electric's 6 (six) long-term commitment to supporting the realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations World Agency, namely utilizing the power of all generations. By encouraging learning, improving skills, and pioneering future roads for the next generation.

"We believe that the arrangement of learning materials in the GENERATORS program, namely information literacy, thinking design, and analysis and prototypes can provide benefits in shaping innovative and practical thinking for 8th grade SMPN students throughout the city of Bandung," concluded Aswita.