I would like to thank the school for supporting and funding ASA over the past seven years as it developed into one of the most authentic high school research programs in the world. Significant effort, funding, and dedication have been invested in building ASA with the intention that once the program was well established at SPH Lippo Village, it could expand to other SPH campuses. Today, we are ready for that next step.

We are excited to announce that ASA will begin expanding to other campuses, starting with SPH Kemang this year, followed by additional SPH campuses in the coming years.

ASA now enters a new chapter with the introduction of ASA-NEO, a more structured and refined program developed in formal partnership with the Emmerich Research Center (EMRC). This phase expands mentorship through additional full-time mentors and introduces new research opportunities, including emerging fields such as artificial intelligence. Students will also gain access to the ASA project tracking database, a newly established alumni network, and expanded laboratory access to support science, engineering, and innovation.

As with any high-quality program, there are costs associated with maintaining its standards. It is not our intention to place unnecessary financial burden on families. However, beginning in the 2026–2027 academic year, ASA will introduce program fees. The school will continue to provide subsidies and scholarship opportunities as outlined in this booklet. Our goal is to ensure that ASA can continue operating at the highest quality for the benefit of our students.

Our mission remains the same: to empower students to transform curiosity into knowledge, ideas into experiments, and learning into meaningful contributions to society. Through ASA research alongside the IB academic program, we are committed to maximizing students’ future opportunities and inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers.

Science is more than knowledge. It reveals the laws and order that shape our universe. Simply put, it helps us understand how things work in the beautiful world God has created. By understanding how things work, we can develop new ideas, technologies, and solutions that benefit society. The process of discovering how things work is known as research.

At the Applied Science Academy (ASA), students are immersed in research-based activities across interdisciplinary fields driven by their curiosity. We strongly believe in the value of research-based learning. It builds character, develops time management, and teaches independence, perseverance, and self-learning. In research, failure is often the beginning of success. Through experiments and persistence, great discoveries emerge.

ASA was established in 2018 with the vision of providing the SPH community with a state-of-the-art research program where high school students can discover their passions and develop strong skills and portfolios for their future. It is an after-school program where students freely explore ideas under the guidance of experienced mentors with full access to laboratory facilities.

Over the past seven years, ASA has grown within the SPH Lippo Village community. We have built strong partnerships and developed expertise in mentoring student research. Several student projects have been published in international journals, and many research prototypes have been developed. Many of our alumni have gone on to top universities around the world, some receiving prestigious scholarships as a result of their academic achievements and ASA research experience.

Director's Message
Dr. Eden Steven

Applied science academy journey

The Beginning: ASA Development at SPH LV

In 2018, ASA was established at SPH LV with the intention that once

This program allows students to:

Explore their passion
Clarify their university direction
Discover their sense of purpose
Gain advanced research skills
Enhance their portfolio and scholarship potentials

What We Witnessed

Through ASA, we discovered that students:

Found their passion and clearer direction of what their university direction
Developed deeper sense of purpose for their learning
Became highly drawn to complex and advanced knowledge and skills
Produced meaningful research experiences
Improved their potential for scholarship or top unis enrollment

ASA has been in development for the last 7 years. Each year, we grow our capacity, build new mentor network, and improve the research process. More than 100 students success stories have been written.

ASA for All SPH Campus

Significant effort, funding, and dedication have been invested in building ASA with the intention that once the program was well established at SPH Lippo Village, it could expand to other SPH campuses.

Today, we are ready for that next step!

In the first year, we had a student published an international scientific journal and won awards at international conferences!
He is now at MIT pursuing PhD in Computer Science

Introducing ASA-NEO

A refined and expanded research program.

From 7 meaningful years at SPH LV since 2019, to a new chapter as ASA Neo at SPH KV starting in 2027.

Stronger and more detailed research mentorship

More structured research pathways

Broader field of research opportunities

Available to both SPH LV and SPH KV in 2026-2027, and to other SPH campuses in the following years

ASA-NEO

ASA-NEO builds on everything learned during the development phase, further providing significant improvements

Title	ASA	ASA-NEO
Networking after ASA	None	ASA Alumni Society
Dedicated System	None	ASA Dedicated System (data tracking, documentation and portfolio database)
Branch	Only in SPH LV	Available in SPH LV, SPH KV, and others coming soon
Research Field	Biotechnology, Computer Science, Engineering	All previous fields + NEW field in AI (agentic AI, etc.)
Mentor	Part-time mentor	Additional full time and dedicated mentor (technical research, manuscript writing)

About ASA Director

Dr. Eden received his Ph.D. in Physics at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) at Florida State University (FSU), USA. He spent 2 years as a postdoctoral fellow at NHMFL while also serving as adjunct faculty in the Physics department at FSU before he returned home to Indonesia. He has been active in research for the last 15 years across multi-disciplinary fields in materials physics, robotics, edge computing, IoT and applied AI systems; a co-founder of multiple startup companies; a holder of multiple technology patents; and directed high school STEM research initiatives. He has mentored over 100 high school students in his careers through his STEM programs. He is a proud alumni of Sekolah Pelita Harapan (SPH).

Published 30+ papers

Published papers with several Nature affiliated journal

Co-founded multiple startup companies

Edu-tech, industrial Iot/AI, insect tech

Held multiple technology patents

Materials tech, insect tech

Pioneered innovative high school STEM initiatives in Indonesia

Applied Science Academy, Nikola Academy

Science is more than just knowledge. It is the law and order behind the fabric of our universe. To put it simply, it is about understanding how things work in this beautiful world that God has created. By understanding how things work, we can then carry out creative efforts to make new things and new technologies for the benefit of our society. The process of figuring things out is also known as research.

In the Applied Science Academy, students are immersed in research-based activities in highly interdisciplinary fields driven by their curiosity. We strongly believe in the benefits of research-based learning. It builds character, good time management habit, teaches self-learning skills and determination. In research, failure is truly the beginning of success. It is from these experiments, great discovery emerges.

ASA is an after school program where students get to perform free exploration guided under experienced mentor with full laboratory access to the school's facility and with our partner institutions. Several of our past students' research have been published in international journal or presented in international symposium. Together we look for dissemination opportunities of our students work that will benefit the students best, thereby equipping them with earned prestige when they are ready to apply for university later.

SPH Applied Science Academy

The Applied Science Academy at Sekolah Pelita Harapan LV aims to be at the forefront of investing in the empowerment of our younger generations starting from high school levels by providing an authentic research environment in areas that the student is passionate about. In the Academy, students work with mentors from different areas of research, such as biotechnology, advanced physics, robotics, data science, pharmacy, alternative energy, and many more.

Eden Steven, Ph.D

ASA Director

Click to Apply

Benefits of Joining SPH Applied Science Academy

Advanced Scientific Research Experience

-Build Scientific portfolio for college application.

-Opportunity to participate in conferences or competition.

-Synergy with the IB program and its philosophy.

Gain Professional Skillsets

-Obtain pre-college or college level specialized skillsets and knowledge.

-Learn and practice how to write and publish scientific reports.

-Experience what it takes to develop real systems and apps.

Networking

-Gain experience working and networking with research groups in universities and other research institutes.

Early Career Preparation

-Practice and improve effective and agile learning and planning habit.

-Exposure to current and future trend in science and technology to help with college career decisions.

1. Eligible for Sekolah Pelita Harapan LV grade 10-12 students.

2. Proactively engage in weekly discussions with mentors.

3. Maintain excellent performance in regard to class subjects.

4. Be respectful to mentors.

5. Apply and go through an interview evaluation process.

6. Keep an online log book of their activities and have it available to mentors.

7. Prioritize and be wise on afterschool activity schedules. Students who overly commit to too many other afterschool activity may not gain optimal benefit of the program.

8. Present their work in the annual Applied Science Academy Exhibition at the end of the school year.

9. Parents must sign and agree to the students' participation in the program.

10. Time commitment of 2-4 hours per week outside of school hours working on their projects.

11. Available to travel to external labs when necessary.

Member Eligibility and Expectations.

10+

Undergraduate students

One student admitted to computer science program in US universities with full scholarships.
One student admitted to MIT PhD program in EECS.
Two students earned Jardine Scholarship at Cambridge University and Oxford University with full funding, living coverage, and monthly stipend.
Two students admitted to AMGEN Scholars Program at ETH Zurich.
Students admitted to top various top universities, including Dartmouth College (ivy), Imperial College London, U. of Toronto, UIUC, U. of Chicago, Washington, Wisconsin, UCSD, HKUST, and more.

100+

High school students

(interdisciplinary research)

SPH APPLIED SCIENCE ACADEMY