Germany, new hope for Indonesian university graduates

By Sri Pudyastuti Baumeister

BERLIN (JP): On a murky fall morning a professor strode into his colleague's study. "Is there a vacancy in your place. A graduate from Indonesia, formerly under my tutelage, has asked me to find him a job," he said, producing a piece of paper.

The colleague glanced at an e-mail letter with the words top urgent on the top right hand corner: Department of Aeronautics Technical University Braunschweig (TUBS), Germany. The letter outlined a number of outstanding qualifications received from the alma mater. The owner of the degree was unemployed as Sempati Airlines, where he had been employed several years earlier, had gone bankrupt. "I really need your help," wrote the degree holder, a father of four from Surabaya.

This is a familiar occurrence for Indonesian graduates of German universities. Since the economic crisis in Indonesia four years ago, the demand for employment in Germany, which is renowned for its high technology, has shown an upward trend. This demand has come especially from the German alumni -- from various state enterprises, who received scholarships to study in Germany from the state in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, fresh graduates are reluctant to come back to Indonesia or at least many postpone their return to their home country.

"This tendency is very clear every time I enquire what they will do upon completing their studies here," said head of the information section of the Indonesian embassy in Berlin, Herawati Nuwargamiharja. There are several ways you can postpone your return to Indonesia. You can look for a scholarship to pursue higher studies or ask for an apprenticeship at your alma mater. Many are lucky enough to be employed in German industries.

"My graduation ceremony took place in 1998 coinciding with Soeharto's fall. Then I was struck by the thought, what would I be doing back home with only a diploma and no experience at all, while the situation in Indonesia was chaotic. I decided not to return to Indonesia," said Aeronautical Engineer Priyatna Surawijaya, 32.

Aeronautical Engineer Vembra Trigerya Vidjaja, 36, gave more or less the same reason. In 1998, IPTN, now called Indonesian Aerospace, sent Gerry, as he is known to friends, to conduct research on wing-engine integration at DLR, a German Aeronautics and Astronautics research center, for nine months, funded by Germany's State Ministry in charge of educational and research affairs (BMBF). Unfortunately three months after he started working on the project, he had to stop his studies as the N 2130 project was suspended. It was actually for the manufacturing of this aircraft that the government had sent him to Braunschweig, a university city some 45 minutes' drive from Hanover.

Gerry, who by then had already taken all his family to Germany, thought IPTN would forget the N-2130 project for good. "It no longer cares about the project, let alone people like me," he argued. He decided that returning to Indonesia was not the best policy and prepared himself to run an export-import business he had pioneered in Germany with Zumbala trading group of Malaysia.

This plan, however, had to be abandoned as he received an offer from DLR. DLR had been appointed sub-contractor for the manufacture of Dornier DO 728 commuter airplane, the construction of which resembles that of a N-2130. They needed him not only because of his expertise as an aerodynamics engineer, but, more importantly, because of his involvement in IPTN's N 2130 project. They believed he had thorough knowledge about an airplane of this type.

The renewable three-year contract he signed with DLR entitles him to full working hours, known as Vollzeitstelle in Germany, i.e. eight hours a day. "My superior believed I would not earn enough to support a family with four children if I worked only four hours a day, a hiring system known as Doktoranden Stelle in Germany," said Gerry, who now occupies a two-story house, formerly a small Islamic prayer house owned by a Turk.

Gerry's road to working in Germany was plain sailing after he got the green light from IPTN, which granted his application for unpaid leave. IPTN did not even mention a time limit. When applying for this leave, Gerry wrote he wished to study for his doctorate. Perhaps it was good news to IPTN: good news that he was not returning home and also good news because he would pursue his studies at a higher level.

As a matter of fact, the lure to work in Germany has attracted not only Indonesian graduates still residing there but also alumni who have already returned to Indonesia. Mechanical Engineer Haider Alatas, 30, is one of the latter. He has been in contact with DAAD, a German scholarship institute following a difficult life financially in Indonesia during the ongoing economic crisis. In 1996 he joined the National Atomic Energy Agency in Serpong Tangerang and remained there for two years with a salary of Rp 700,000 a month.

"I almost applied to be a teacher at Deutsche Schule," said Haider, referring to the German School located also in Serpong. He said he was dissatisfied with his work as it was not in the realm of his expertise.

During those gloomy days, he got an unexpected offer from his former professor, who had asked him to pursue his studies for a doctorate degree. It was really a pleasant surprise for him. "I had always dreamed of getting this offer," said Haider, now studying for a doctorate degree at the Institute for Applied Computer Science, Karsruhe University, some 80 km away from Frankfurt. Thanks to the offer he could return to his campus free of charge.

Like Priyatna, as a doctorate candidate Haider can also work at his campus. He plans to improve his living standards from this income.

From Bandung, a former fly-by-wire manager of IPTN, L.K. Sunarkito, 44, paints almost the same picture. After working for several years at IPTN, he resigned because he could no longer bear hour after hour of doing nothing.

"I have to continue using my brain otherwise it will get rusty," said Sunarkito, a graduate of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

This awareness prompted him to send an application letter to Dornier, a German-US commuter airplane manufacturing company located in Munich.

What is really in a position?

Sunarkito may have been in fortune's favor as he got a response to his application letter in less than a month. Then he was briefly interviewed over the phone, to be followed by another interview in Munich. After the second interview, Sunarkito, with 20 years of experience at IPTN in CN 235, N 250 and N 2130 projects, got a permanent job at Dornier last year and quit IPTN. Today he is the Landing Gear System coordinator for DO 328, a 23- seat jet airplane. In terms of position, he had a higher position at IPTN. However, "What's really in a position?" he asked rhetorically. In his present job, he supervises his colleagues from France, Germany and Britain, and can keep his commitment to use his brain.

"I am now involved in aircraft manufacturing under a sophisticated technological system acceptable worldwide," he said with a tinge of pride.

Good fortune may play a role in this respect. Although there is a very remote likelihood of a decent life in your own country, to live in a foreign country without any certainty about employment may prove disastrous. Priyatna said he had to think hard many times before eventually deciding to work in Germany. Returning home, not returning home? When he was still in doubt, his family had returned home. It was at this critical time that his professor at TUBS offered him a chance to continue his studies for a doctorate degree. He ought to be proud because he was the only one offered this chance, out of a group of seven IPTN scholarship recipients.

Now, with a visible feeling of joy, he said that as a doctorate candidate, he does not have to conduct research all the time. Apart from working in a research institute, he tutors undergraduate students and also give lectures if the lecturers concerned happen to be absent. It is his job as a doctorate candidate that allows him to earn an income of a BAT IIa category Bundesangestelltentarif or a university staffer in a Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter or assistant researcher position. Getting this position is like killing two birds with one stone: he can use laboratory facilities and infrastructure for his research and earn an income from his contribution as a researcher. This income enables him to support his life in Germany and his family in Jakarta.