Luthfi was born in Bogor in 1995, he is the second child of doctor Iyus Hendrawan and Endang Sri Rejeki and his family currently lives in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. Luthfi’s mother is a teacher at an elementary school while Luthfi is currently studying in the Enschade, Netherland, from a scholarship award.
During my recent summer vacation to Indonesia I had the opportunity to meet him and while at lunch he told me about his life and how he reached his achievements as a teenager. He related how his parents never forced him or his sister but instead directed them and gave examples. From elementary to high school their parents never prosecuted them about getting the best rank in class nor forced them to join tutoring programs or private lessons. He shared how his parents always provided examples and inspiration from people around them who were diligent in learning, studying and also praying which they explained would produce more benefits.
Luthfi recalled how his parents always told Islamic stories about scientists when he was a child and how they instilled in him the importance of discovering things that can be useful for many people. His childhood dream was to be a scientist and he understands that to achieve his dream he has to study hard. His parents never demanded, “You have to do this and that!” or “You must to be this or that!” but by providing an example they motivated him to seek knowledge himself.
He’s also always enjoyed conducting experiments and finding new instruments. Much of his inspiration and findings came from his daily experiences, such as when he created a Cooking Box. He loved cooking with his mother at home and after becoming bored while waiting hours for his cake to rise Luthfi was inspired to create a solution. This also occurred with his Digital Leaf Color Chart (DLCC) invention. The idea came to him when he aspired to win the Nobel Prize in Physics for establishing a multinational corporation to help small farmers around the world.
Although his demeanor is calm, Luthfi is very friendly and humorous. He told aMuslima that he started to do experiments in the 4th grade and at that time he wanted to buy a football. Luthfi asked for money from his parents to buy a football but his mother did not allow him for some reason. She said if he wanted to buy the ball then there was another way to get it besides asking for money from his parents. She asked him to go to the gypsum store in the neighborhood, there was a Gypsum factory in town, and Luthfi had to ask a worker what was gypsum and what could be made from it. Finally, with no clue from his parents, he came up with the idea for making marbles. At that time it was the season for playing marbles so he made marbles from unused gypsum for selling to his friends. Alhamdulillah, they sold out and he was able to use the money to buy a football.
Luthfi always remembers this story because he feels it was the starting point for his curiosity and when he came to understand the concept that “there is no instant that is good for a long period.” For him, the best motivators are his parents, his sister and his school teachers. Especially his teachers from junior high school, Mr. Aqwin Polosoro (Chemistry teacher), and Mr. Ari Ariansyah (Math teacher) who convinced him to participate in scientific competitions on the national and international level. They have been his teachers for many years, especially Mr. Ari who is also his liqo/tarbiyah teacher.
In the future, insha Allah, Luthfi’s plans are first to never stop creating things that benefit many people. Second, he will continue his studies for receiving a PhD and to seek a masters degree in the UK at Imperial College London and a doctoral degree at the University of Texas at Austin. Hopefully later Luthfi will achieve the Nobel Prize in Physics as he has dreamed. Aamin ya Robbal Alamin.
When aMuslima asked what were his thoughts about education abroad, especially in Europe where Luthfi now studies and where their students are compared to his home country, Luthfi said that the education system in Europe is designed for students who are not familiar with memorization only, but with understanding as well. In Indonesia the students are accustomed to memorizing formulas given by the teacher and therefore the burden to memorize has made it difficult to understand the formula itself. This happened when Luthfi first came to the Netherlands and his professor asked him what made a certain formula make sense and Luthfi could only answer what he had memorized. Since then Luthfi would rather understand the formulas rather than focusing so much upon memorizing them. He now seeks to understand the formula without memorizing the final product and mathematical rules.
In addition he said that the lecturers are more open minded and he gets different points of view. In the Netherlands lecturers are open to criticism in front of the class, are interrupted by students who want to ask questions even if in the middle of the presentation therefore students will leave the class without keeping any questions in their minds. He also noted that the students do not feel embarrassed to ask and/or argue with the professor.
Currently Luthfi served as a chairman of the PPI, the Indonesian student association in the Netherlands. He said the PPI or Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia (Indonesian Students Association) is pretty good and are solid in helping each other in order to survive in a foreign country during the study period abroad. There is a Student Association in every country and there seem to be Indonesian students in every town. The PPI is very beneficial for students and acts as a place for students to go in case of emergencies or when a mediator of communication with the embassies and families in Indonesia is needed. The PPI has also become a forum for exchanging ideas in accordance with the students’ background knowledge. It is also expected that it will suggest solutions for our country’s problems. In addition there are other activities such as cooking of Indonesian food and holding Indonesian food festivals together.
When compared to the students in Indonesia he said it is much different. While overseas there are more environmental challenges such as how Western cultures tend to dominate the society in ways that are unfamiliar to Muslims. He has stated however that any necessary filters should come from within ourselves since there are no parents or family members watching and that we must remember and be convinced that Allah (SWT) always watches anytime and anywhere.
Hopefully Luthfi can easily achieve his goals. Aamiin
