Syaikhu is a senior research fellow at SMERU. He has a doctorate in development sociology and a master’s degree in rural sociology, both from Cornell University in the USA. Prior to joining SMERU, he worked as a researcher and consultant for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Centre for Policy and Implementation Studies, and the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture. He has also worked as a lecturer and researcher at Sriwijaya University, Indonesia. His research experience in education include A Study on Teacher Absenteeism and Early Childhood Development (ECD) Strategy Study. He has also conducted various research projects on poverty alleviation, including The Development of Poverty Alleviation Toolkit: Promoting Poverty Mainstreaming into Practice; and Monitoring the Sustainable Livelihood Pilot under the Master Plan for Acceleration and Expansion of Poverty Reduction (MP3KI).