Why did you decide to complete a Master of Culture and Creative Industries?

Before I took my master’s degree at Monash, I was a finance professional in Indonesia. I also spent some time working abroad in Hong Kong and Singapore. During my travels I noticed a growth in high quality local products being produced by local people. Particularly in Indonesia, there’s been a rapid growth across the creative industries. I wanted to learn and study this specific sector, a field that I believe not many people really understood. I was interested in learning something new for me – completely different to my finance background.

What does your role with Traveloka involve?

Traveloka is an Indonesian start-up in the travel industry. It’s a digital platform and an eight-year-old company that has been growing tremendously in recent years. We just launched this platform in Australia, one of our biggest markets. Traveloka is categorised as a creative industry, an area that is still growing in Indonesia.

Why did you choose to come to Melbourne and to Monash?

I was browsing through Monash’s website and the programs that Monash offered and I came across the program for Masters of Culture and Creative Industries. One of the most appealing factors was a unit called Shanghai City Lab, which briefly pictured the kinds of creative growth I was seeing in Jakarta.

I also found Melbourne very exciting and has a lot to offer, including I love going to the museums, heading to the theatres, watching musicals and finding authentic local products.

How have the skills from your Arts degree complemented your finance skills?

As an Accounting graduate, I’m very familiar with numbers and excel spreadsheets. I was overwhelmed when I first joined Monash – I didn’t have any experience in academic writing. I spent a lot of time at the library learning this skill. After my first semester, my lecturers acknowledged my academic writing had improved.

What I learned through academic writing is structural thinking. This skill applies in any job, including finance. I learned about logical thinking, identifying problems and laying out possible solutions. I also learned how to specifically address a task and understand what’s being asked.

In my current role, I do a lot of analysis, so I need to be able to convey and deliver the right message and interpret numbers, graphs and diagrams. I learned these skills during my master’s degree and I really treasure them.

What else did you gain from your time at Monash?

I met a lot of people from different walks of life and studying different programs. I spent a lot of my time in Monash Arts lounge – Building H, Level 5 – I still remember it! I met a lot of Arts students, including those studying tourism, international development practice and media. We could interact and share what we’ve been working on and I loved getting a glimpse of what they were studying.

I have some Indonesian friends at Monash through the Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education) scholarship community. I had never met people so passionate about academia. I really treasure these friendships and we still keep in touch and meet up in Indonesia.

What skills have you learnt studying and working abroad?

I have a better understanding of people from different cultures. What I love about the whole experience is communicating with people from different backgrounds. It really widened my perspective. I love talking to people about how they do things in their culture and immersing myself in the local settings. This is the reason I dare myself to travel around, work abroad and move overseas.

What advice would you provide students considering studying abroad?

My advice is to keep exploring and don’t set boundaries on yourself. I put no limit on learning. I believe that, in whatever field you’re in, all you have to do is keep learning.

Interviewed by Lilly Walsh, journalism intern, Monash Arts, 2020