Sambas, 11 February 2026 – The Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP) reaffirmed its commitment to expanding scholarship access in Indonesia’s frontier and outermost regions by introducing a special Affirmation track for local residents.

West Kalimantan is one of Indonesia’s provinces with districts that share a direct land border with Malaysia—one of them being Sambas Regency. The Pos Lintas Batas Negara Aruk serves as an official cross-border gateway connecting Indonesian citizens to Sarawak, Malaysia, and vice versa.

As one of Indonesia’s outermost and frontline regions, Sambas plays a strategic role and must continue strengthening its human capital to accelerate regional development. In this spirit, LPDP directly engaged with the future generation of Sambas through a 2026 LPDP Scholarship Socialization Seminar held at Politeknik Negeri Sambas (Poltesa), located at the Joint Lecture Building, on Wednesday afternoon (11/2).

Approximately 200 participants—including students, lecturers, and local government officials—filled the hall, demonstrating strong enthusiasm. The session was delivered by LPDP’s Head of Scholarship Cooperation and Development Division, Agam Bayu Suryanto.

Agam explained that Sambas Regency qualifies as an Affirmation Region due to its border status, which grants applicants greater flexibility in administrative requirements compared to the general track. For example, the minimum GPA requirement is 2.5 for master’s programs and 3.0 for doctoral programs, accompanied by extended age limits and exemption from English proficiency certification for domestic universities.

“Under the general track, the maximum age for a master’s applicant is typically 35. For applicants from Sambas, we have extended it to 47. For doctoral applicants, the general limit is 40, but for Sambas, we have raised it to 50,” Agam stated, prompting enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Agam also shared practical tips on applying for the LPDP scholarship and emphasized the importance of presenting one’s unique strengths throughout the selection process. The interactive Q&A session further reflected the strong interest among prospective applicants eager to contribute to Sambas’ development.

He added that Poltesa was selected as the venue due to its business incubation and entrepreneurship center, which aligns well with LPDP’s objective of strengthening human capital capacity—not only for students and alumni but also for faculty members.

In his remarks, Poltesa Director Yuliansyah expressed appreciation for LPDP’s decision to hold the outreach session at the institution. He described the initiative as a concrete example of proactive engagement, demonstrating LPDP’s genuine commitment to delivering valuable information directly to the people of Sambas.

“Extraordinary. This is a border region, and LPDP came directly to share information and opportunities that could be heard by various stakeholders—not only our lecturers, but also local government representatives and colleagues from Bengkayang Regency who attended today. This shows that LPDP is truly present in 3T regions (frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped areas),” Yuliansyah said.

LPDP’s direct presence in Sambas was seen as a significant motivational boost, reinforcing the community’s sense of being reached and acknowledged. Yuliansyah further stated that the campus would actively monitor and encourage greater participation to maximize this golden opportunity and the relaxed requirements offered.

“We will monitor and remind our lecturers, alumni, and the broader Sambas community to apply—whether in STEM or SHARE fields—so that this opportunity can be fully utilized,” he concluded.

The event also featured Alvina Yolanda, an LPDP scholarship alumna and now a lecturer in the Tourism Business Management Study Program at Poltesa. She shared her experience of receiving the LPDP scholarship in 2016 and provided practical advice on navigating the selection stages.

The three-hour seminar concluded with a plaque exchange ceremony and a group photo session. The 2026 Batch 1 LPDP Scholarship Seminar was also broadcast live on Poltesa’s official YouTube channel.