Budi or Beasiswa Unggulan Dosen Indonesia Dalam Negeri (Indonesian Lecturer’s Scholarship) is a Doctoral scholarship programme managed by the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education and funded by LPDP (Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education).

As there has been several changes in LPDP recruitment scheme, British Council International Education Services team recently interviewed Dr John I. Pariwono, Coordinator of Overseas Scholarship, Directorate of General of Resources for Science Technology and Higher Education of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education to find out if there are also changes for Budi.

Based on the interview, Dr John clarified that BUDI remains the same as last year:
1. Eligible applicants are permanent Indonesian lecturers from state and private universities under the ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education supervision.
2. Budi covers 3 years of Ph. d / Doctoral programme with a possibility of another 1-year extension.
3. Budi applicants can apply within Top 500 University ranking.
http://sumberdaya.ristekdikti.go.id/index.php/2017/07/24/pedoman-budi-ln...
4. Lecturer from any education background can apply for Budi Scholarship if they have Nomer Induk Dosen National (Lecturer National Identity Number).
5. Applicants required to have an unconditional LoA prior the registration process.
6. For overseas University, the maximum quota will be 150 students.
7. The ministry will provide English training for applicants to prepare them for IELTS. Currently this activity is held in Institut Teknologi Bandung (Bandung Institute of Technology), Universitas Negeri Malang (State University of Malang) and Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (State University of Yogyakarta).

Commentary by Audrie Adriana Sanova

Dr John clarified that currently there is no further update regarding BUDI scholarship. Terms of application remains the same including the University choices which remains within Top 500.

The main challenge for applicants when applying for BUDI is the requirement to have an unconditional LoA prior the registration process. Most applicants find it difficult to contact potential supervisor from overseas universities. Therefore, having a dedicated person in the admission office that can connect potential BUDI scholars with the correct supervisor can be a solution.

In addition, Dr John mention that the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education is planning to release a new scholarship scheme for postgraduate and doctoral degree (Lecturers and Academic only) next year that is funded by them not the Ministry of Finance (LPDP). Further information will be provided later this year.

Sources:
British Council internal meetings with Dr John I. Pariwono, Coordinator of Overseas Scholarship, Directorate of General of Resources for Science Technology and Higher Education of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education.