Durham’s Women in Business Scholar –Tiffany Tjia

Gender parity is incredibly important, not only in business and society, but at a business school too. How can we expect candidates to understand and learn from each other’s experiences if they all have the same background, culture, and point of view? Candidates want to not only learn from faculty and lecturers, but also from their peers – and the more diverse the class, the more peer-to-peer learning there’s likely to be.

All business schools are striving for gender parity in what’s a competitive market, but one way Durham University Business School sets itself apart is by providing dedicated scholarships for outstanding women in business.

The Durham MBA programmes (Full-time and Online) offer nine Women in Business Executive Dean’s Scholarships, designed for women with outstanding career experience, impressive academic record, potential to be an outstanding leader in their field, or who’ve provided supportive, inclusive environments for others.

We caught up with Tiffany Tjia, a scholarship winner, to discuss what the award means to her, why she applied for Durham’s MBA, and what she hopes to achieve from the programme.

Can you tell us about yourself and your background?

I’m the Head of Business and Operations for Tokopedia, the biggest e-commerce company in Indonesia, with a mission to democratise commerce in Indonesia. I’m a person representing three minorities in my country: female, Christian and Chinese-descendant. I was born and raised in the sixth country of greatest wealth inequality in the world, Indonesia.

What inspired you to pursue this programme?

A lot of people asked me, “Why Durham?”. After researching top UK business schools, Durham featured very highly with impeccable ranking and accreditation. The next question is “Why the OMBA programme?”.

There’s a constant debate on which is more important for young professionals to succeed: work experience or a degree?

Instead of debating, I chose the programme that gives me the luxury to do both. The tech industry is rapidly growing; things are going to be different in the next few years.

How did you become aware of the scholarship? What motivated you to apply?

Allow me to share a bit of my family background. I’m the breadwinner of my family. My father is a blue-collar worker, and my mother is a full-time housewife. I couldn’t afford to do the study while I have the responsibility to finance my parents.

I was made aware of the scholarship from Google ads while googling Durham University, and thus I applied.

How has receiving the scholarship impacted your academic and personal life?

This scholarship has been helping me generously by removing the financial barrier so I don’t have to work a second job; instead I can focus on my studies. The scholarship has motivated me to give 100% in academic life and the motivation to give my best.

What advice do you have for other young women considering applying?

As women, we often limit ourselves before even trying. We keep saying these phrases in our minds, “Oh, I’m not smart enough”, “Oh, I don’t think I’ll get it, so why bother?” Try. Do it. Just try. Believe in yourself, because if you don’t who will?

What do you plan to do after graduation?

The MBA degree is prestigious, and I believe it’ll complete my résumé to gain investor confidence. My plan is to start my own business. It’s been my long personal mission to take real action to minimise poverty in Indonesia. Short term, I’m planning to start a technology company that educates and partners with traditional stores, fisherman, farmers and other professions not yet touched by technology, so they can compete with the present world. Longer term, my plan is to unite the 58.97 million Micro and Small to Medium-sized Enterprises in Indonesia to drive the nation’s economic recovery and end poverty there.

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