Ian earns fame with his achievements

Ian earns fame with his achievements

BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany (JP): Born in Medan, North Sumatra,
Harianto Wijaya just turned 25. Only last year he graduated with
a Dipl-Ing (engineering) degree from the School of Information
Engineering, Rhine-Westphalia Technical College (RWTH), Aachen,
Germany. Though still very young, he has earned fame in the
international information engineering community, particularly
after Ian -- his nickname -- became the first recipient of the
German government's green card a few months ago.

In the United States a green card is obtainable through a
tight application process. In Germany, it is only for qualified
university graduates. The German government calls this green card
a High-Tech Visa.

"Germany is an excellent place for foreign skilled workers,"
said president of the German Labor Office, Bernhard Jagoda to
Newsweek last July, after handing over the green card certificate
to Ian in a ceremony attended by the manpower minister Walter
Riester in Nurenberg.

Unlike other applicants, Ian was accepted without having to go
through a series of tests because of his extraordinary
achievements. He graduated from the university with excellent
grades. He has written quite a few of scientific papers which
have been published in a number of international computer
engineering journals like IEEE (Institute for Electric and
Electrical Engineering) and the European Wireless. His more
stunning achievement is that he has obtained two patents in the
mobile wireless communication area. He got his first patent
together with his superior, Prof. B. Walke and the second with
Siemens. With these qualifications and a recommendation from his
professors, he could easily get the High-Tech Visa.

Ian said that he was indeed in need of this green card because
it was the only permit that would serve as a passport for him to
join Siemens-backed COVERAGE (Cellular OFDM System with Extension
Point for Increased Transmission Range) project, and the Multihop
project of BMBF, Germany's State Ministry for Education and
Research. Through COVERAGE, Ian and his colleagues are now
working at Mobile Wireless Company AixCom, which is owned by
Walke, to develop the prototype of a HIPERLAN/2 (High Performance
Local Area Network) system, namely the fourth generation of the
system now employed in cellular telephones and communication
satellites. In the Multihop project, Ian and his colleagues are
developing a new concept for the future system, which is more
sophisticated than the current system. The GSM now available in
the market is the second generation. Together with Walke, Ian is
now also working on the concept for the fifth generation.

With the LAN system he is developing, a computer will no
longer need a cable. This system may be utilized for many
purposes such as cellular phones, communication satellites and
multimedia purposes. Later, photographs taken with a digital
camera can be directly transmitted to the hard disk at home. If
you forget to take a document with you, this system can upload
the data stored in your office directly to your laptop.

It is this quality of genius Ian possesses that has made U.S.
software companies interested in hiring him. For the present at
least, Ian, taking Walke's recommendation, will pursue a deeper
study of the theory and implementation of wireless LAN and at the
same time join a post-graduate program. Besides, he will have to
save money to join an MBA program in the United States. That's
why he prefers to work in Germany although he earns only half of
what U.S. companies have offered him, i.e. some DM 98,000 (about
US$43,000) a year.

Ian, who has a younger brother now also studying in Aachen,
said that he became attracted to the computer at the age of four
when his father gave him a computer as a gift. He tried to join
the Computer Management Business Institute in Medan but failed
because he was too young. He tried again and this time he was
allowed join the institute after his IQ was tested. "I believe I
have a knack for information technology," he said.

He later sent applications to a number of U.S. and German
universities. All his applications received a favorable response
but he finally chose RWTH Aachen because his technology idol,
Prof. B.J. Habibie was one of the graduates of this university.
Ian, who likes to face challenges, said that studying at
university in Germany was a lot more difficult and tougher than
in other countries. When he began taking lectures in 1995, he
majored in informatics or computer science and electrical
engineering. He completed these studies in four years, causing
astonishment among his lecturers because the normal period of
study in this difficult department is seven years.

Although Ian, who enjoys cooking, has a lot of opportunities
to work in a number of sophisticated companies, he has no
intention to move to another country. He said he knew his country
best of all and therefore he would prefer to work in his home
country. With a population of some 200 million people, he said,
Indonesia is a market with high potential for telecommunications.
When he returns to Indonesia later, he plans to cooperate with
telecommunications companies like PT Telkom, Indosat or
Satelindo. Or, he will set up his own company in wireless
communications.

Ian has been interviewed by almost 100 international print and
electronic mass media like CNN, The Washington Post, Frankfurter
Algemeine Zeitung and Financial Times. He said he had to work
really hard to make his ambition materialize. At present he works
some 65 hours a week.

"I spend virtually all my time taking lectures and working,"
said Ian, who loves to watch action and science fiction films as
well as comedies. (Sri Pudyastuti Baumeister)