Leadership and influence

Chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home
countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership
and influencing skills to support your answer.
(minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)
Ki Hajar Dewantara, a famous indonesian hero, once said: “Ing Ngarso Sing Tulodo, Ing Madya
Mangun Karso, Tut Wuri Handayani” which means “In front should be a role model, in the middle
should raise the spirit, at the back should give support”. In my opinion, the traits mentioned in this
quote are what we should have to effectively lead and influence, and this quote is what has driven me
for my role in leadership and influence.
When I was at college, I have several leadership experiences, the most memorable one is when I was
trusted to become a Chief of System Department for the Election of President of Student Cabinet.
While I was taking the duty, I managed and coordinated four divisions: verification, campaign, voting,
and discipline committe. Those divisions, which consist of approximately 50 personnel each, played an
essential role for the election. I had to keep engaged with my team to make sure each program of the
divisions could run smoothly, while at the same time also keeping focus of my team by keeping them
from any negative interference caused by the pressure from public in the college, which become
more intense during that period. At the end, we were successfully managed to finish our duty on
time, and made an increment of voters participation by 29% compared to previous election.
In my professional track record, I have 5 years of experience as engineer in EPC (Engineering,
Procurement, Construction) companies which taught me on how to coordinate with various
stakeholders. To produce drawings, I need to coordinate and command clearly to the drafters. Also, I
must supervise the vendors to make sure their delivered products are already according to
requirement, from design stage until installation at site. To make the construction process going
smooth, I also need to coordinate with other engineering disciplinaries so our design will be complied
each other, as well as also keeping in touch with other department besides of engineering. During my
working period, I have finished several projects such as 2x25 Megawatt Steam Power Plant, Petronas
Bukit Tua Phase 2B Offshore Wellhead Platform, Bina Karya Prima 3.5 Megawatt Peak Solar
Photovoltaic Rooftop, and other projects.
My experiences, both as student and as a professional worker, convince me that to become an
excellent leader & influencer, we need to become a role model, an encourager, and a supporter for
our team. By pursuing master degree, I believe it will become a huge leap forward to enhance those
traits in myself.
Relationship-building and shared learning
Chevening is looking for individuals with strong professional relationship-building skills, who will
engage with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession.
Please explain how you build and maintain relationships in a professional capacity, using clear
examples of how you currently do this, and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future.
(minimum word count: 100 words; maximum word count: 500 words)
In my opinion, building a relationship is not just about knowing the name of our relation(s), it is also
about how we could get advantages from that relationship. In my current duty as an engineer, I have
many opportunities to broaden my professional relationship. One example is when I was working in
Petronas Bukit Tua Phase 2B Offshore Wellhead Platform Project, I have met with vendor which
supply electrical power cable, which I communicated and gave feedback often to ensure the supplied
cable is as per requirement. They were really helpful from the design stage, factory acceptance tests,
until delivery of materials to site. After the project was finished, I still have the benefit because I can
get the datasheet of their product easier, therefore it really helped me to give more understanding
related to the power cables which used in almost all of my projects involved.
Another example is when I was working in a solar photovoltaic rooftop project in Palembang, I met
with an expert which helped me to repair an equipment in that project. We had much discussion and
sharing about the related electrical system, specification of equipment, how to install it, and how it
will be commissioned, which enabled me to have deeper insight regarding the equipment, specifically
regarding the genset controlling scheme. In addition, I also had the chance to communicate with the
technical support team which is based in UK, which also give us new knowledge regarding the
equipment.
Those experiences in building relationship and sharing lesson really helped me to gain new
understanding, as well as transfer my knowledge to others. In addition, I also have a principle that the
best person is these who is most beneficial for others. So, the benefit of relationship should be bi-
directional, everyone should give and receive the benefit. Besides gaining new insight, I also
passionate to share what I already understand to others. Previously, I am chosen to became a speaker
for several events, such as Solar Energy Workshop at Universitas Nasional in 2019, Passion Playground
Festival: Career Land organized by Vooya in 2021, and a seminar named “Achieving a Successful
Career: Beyond The Textbook” organized by HME ITB (Electrical Engineering Student Union of
Bandung Institute of Technology) in 2022.
Studying in the UK
Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates
to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future. Please enter
new information and examples here and not duplicate the information you have entered on the
work experience and education section of this form (minimum word count: 100 words, maximum
word count: 500 words)
After having several years of working experience, my passion in sustainable energy development is
growing as I realize that energy really has a crucial role for our life. Not only to fulfill our daily needs
such as electricty and fuel, but in a bigger point of view, energy also could impact significantly for the
economic and stability of a country. Perhaps, all of us already know the cutting of gas supply from
Russia to Europe countries, which elevated serious impact for those countries. That is why, I have a
huge interest to continue my study and deepen my insight in sustainable energy.
There are 3 college programs which seem interesting for me. The first one is Energy and Sustainability
with Electrical Power Engineering in University of Southampton. I believe this Master’s degree
program is really suitable to develop my passion in sustainable energy. In addition for me, the plus
point of this program is because it has more focus in electrical engineering, which in line with my
track record. With my educational background in electrical power engineering (bachelor degree),
augmented with 5 years of working experience in electrical engineering, I believe I have a sufficient
ability to cope with challenges in this program. Also, with various energy resource option in Indonesia,
I believe there will be a huge opportunity to contribute if I have an extensive knowledge on how to
manage various source of electrical power generation so they can be integrated effectively, as well as
making sure the electrical power system is reliable to be distributed.
Similar with the previous master program which I mentioned, the Electrical Engineering and
Renewable Energy Systems in University of Leeds also exposed interesting courses. Besides the
courses, both University of Southampton and University of Leeds are also promising as they are
among the top 10 universities in UK for Engineering and Technology subjects according to QS WUR
2022. The next one is the Sustainable Energy Engineering in University of Nottingham. This seems
exciting as they provide a broader point of view of sustainable energy management and how to
integrate it appropriately. Besides the electrical engineering, I am also interested to explore
sustainable energy from the perspective of economic & environmental assessment, carbon life-cycle,
transport & infrastructure, and comparison of low carbon energy resources. According to several
articles from websites such as www.studyin-uk.com, edurank.org, and www.go-uk.in, this university is
also included among the top colleges in renewable energy studies.
In my planning, University of Nottingham is my first choice to study in UK, with University of
Southampton comes second and the third one is University of Leeds. I have more passion in learning
more general thing than to specialize in a speficic field. Studying in Sustainable Energy Engineering
will give me broader insight in sustainable energy, while I firmly believe it is still aligned with my
educational and professional background too.
Career Plan
Chevening is looking for individuals who have a clear post-study career plan. Please outline your
immediate plans upon returning home and your longer term career goals. You may wish to
consider how these relate to what the UK government is doing in your country. (minimum word
count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)
I believe, career in renewable / sustainable energy will be promising in the future. A study by IRENA
(International Renewable Energy Agency) estimated there will be 12 million of employment available
in the renewable energy sector worldwide, which will be rapidly increasing to 38 million jobs in 2030
and 42 million in 2050. In Indonesia, to support the growth of renewable energy development, there
are several programs which involved cooperation with other countries. United Kingdom is among
countries which already held a partnership program with Indonesia in renewable energy
development, which is called "Mentari". This program already achieved several milestones such as
community development in Mata Redi Village, biomass power plant project in Halmahera, and an IDR
47.5 billion funding to PT SMI for its renewable energy projects. Programs like "Mentari" shows that
Indonesia, despite its status as a developing country, is not alone in maximizing the potential of
renewable energy as there are countries which ready to support them. I believe, it will be a huge
advantage to my career if I am able to actively participate in the development of renewable energy,
specifically in Indonesia. Therefore, I am eager to sharpen my skill in that field. In addition, a master
degree, especially in renewable / sustainable energy will be an effective catalyst to enhance my
career as it will give a broader insight. Also, studying master degree in another country with more
advanced renewable energy utilization will be an advantage. With its 42% of electricity generation
comes from renewable energy in 2020, UK is definitely an excellent benchmark in renewable energy
utilization.
Regarding my career, in short term, perhaps three to five years more of my employment period, I
prefer to enrich my experience as engineer. After pursuing my master degree, plus 5 years of
experience in EPC Companies, I planned to join renewable energy developers / independent power
producer, so I have broader point of view in the development of renewable energy, not only in
technical but also in commercial aspects. After that, in the middle term, I am interested to continue
my career in a more managerial role. I believe, eight to ten years of working experience shall be
enough to teach me so I am able to make proper decisions as a manager. Being a manager also will be
a good preparation for the next chapter of my career, which I dream to become a co-founder f a
cosultancy firm in renewable energy. This phase of my career will be burdensome, but I believe with
my technical and managerial experience, I will be able to tackle any challenge in front of me. I hope
with this consultancy firm, Indonesia can have a better mapping on how to maximize the potential of
green energy. As an archipelago with various geographical condition, I have a vision that Indonesia
can utilize the green energy based on local potency and local demand in more effective and efficient
ways.