Travel Update Year 2014

Eventually, we're arriving at the end of 2014. How time flies very quickly! 

I traveled to many places to work, to meet, to gather, to attend a workshop, to network and to learn about so many things from different people and officials. 

These are some places that I've been visited in 2014:

Bandung (May 2014)

It was a very first time I enjoy Braga City Walk (Braga Ciwalk) over the weekend with mommy, brother, sister in-law and nieces. Mom and me took a chance to buy things,  street vendors, compared prices, tried different snacks. Apparently both of us love two things in common: sightseeing and eating. I was really enjoy my short visit in Bandung and hope I could come with hubby to enjoy Braga City Walk culinary night.





Kuala Lumpur (May 2014)

Straight from Bandung, we were heading to Kuala Lumpur after 2 hours landing in Pekanbaru. Mommy and I went to another our lifetime hang out. We tried the new KLIA2 and the train. It was very convenient transportation mode. I accompanied mommy to visit Suria KLCC and enjoyed our little secret: a visit to a traditional snack restaurant at Suria KLCC, where I tried dim sum, various kue lapis and steam cakes. I attended a symposium and met many new friends. 



Jakarta (July 2014)
I went twice, first to make a visa to Germany, and second to celebrate Eid with the in-laws. It was a new experience for me to make a Schengen visa in German's Embassy. 


Yogyakarta (August 2014)

It is always nice to visit Yogyakarta and to experience its cultural atmosphere again. This time I was stuck in a hotel and had to attend a workshop regarding my job. I enjoyed the workshop, especially when I met some famous in my job area, those people who are prominent in their research area and at International Office, so I could exchange views and inspirations. It was a very first time I visited UGM Headquarter Office and I was proud because I came to UGM as a guest. It was thrilled to know that my University (Universitas Riau) became a case study at Focus Discussion Group. I got a chance to meet two friends at undergraduate level separately. It was a good silaturahmi and everyone was happy to see each other again after 15 years:) 

Bandung (September 2014)
Related to the internationalization task, I spent another three days in Bandung to learn on how the ITB manages its internationalization. I was grateful to take a chance as a team leader to design a Student Exchange Summer Program together with a colleague from Petra, Surabaya during the Focus Discussion Group. I learned so much from her view and experiences in organizing the Summer Programs. Instead of that, Bandung is really jaw dropping for apparel shopping experience in Indonesia. 

Frankfurt (September 2014)
On my way to Oldenburg, I must transit in Frankfurt for 6 hours. The Frankfurt International Airport was no 12 on the busiest airport in the world (58 million passengers in 2013). But, bandara Soekarno-Hatta was no 10 (59.7 million passengers), so I could imagine now which one is the busiest ever. Anyway, I've learned that I must be very patience and keep calm since I must walk for a very long distance (perhaps 1km) to go from international gate to the domestic gate and, in reverse, from domestic to international gate on my way back home. This is not even to mention the crowd of passengers and a very old fashion airport with exposed-ceiling waiting rooms of the airport.

Oldenburg (September 2014)
I think this could be another hometown for me. Being in Oldenburg for three weeks made me realize that I always feel @home for a middle-sized city or a very quiet city, such Pekanbaru, Perth and Oldenburg. Everything is so reachable and people rely on bicycles for transportation. What I really like about Oldenburg is, it always reminds me about life in Perth. The streets are clean, the gardens are beautiful, the public transportation is reliable, the city center is quite small but nice, the architecture is splendid and the air is so healthy. People go to the traditional market almost on daily basis (Pferdemarkt) to buy fresh vegies, fruits, etc or to see horses. The course was held at Univ of Oldenburg. I was glad that I've been granted this scholarships to enhance my knowledge in leadership and management training at the University. The most unforgettable experience was to meet and greet Mayor of Oldenburg!

Bremen (September 2014)

We went to Bremen on a nice Saturday morning to experience this city together. There was a guided tour around Bremen, which I admitted, so interesting but not enough time to hear the guide because everything was so appealing to be photographed. I spent more time to absorb the views, the atmosphere, the architecture, the city path and the history. We took a time to walk the Bremen riverside where so many people selling second-hand things like in car-boot sale (UK) or Sunday market (Australia). I took a chance to experience free ride of Bremen tram to one suburb and did our shopping there. Then we got back to Oldenburg together with the Vietnamese and Sudanese girlfriends. 





Bonn (September 2014)

On a rainy Sunday, we took a ride of a bus to Bonn. I was too excited because I'm going to see Bonn (a capital city of West Germany) and Berlin (a capital city of East Germany) in this program. Bonn is around 5-6 hours drive from Oldenburg, so we spent more time to chat or to sleep in our bus. We arrived at 1pm then we went to the city center to follow a tour. I could not imagine that I've crossed the Rheine River and actually had a lunch at the Rheineland Restaurant. The city center is really big. We visited Beethoven's house and listened to the story of his life. We took a time to have coffee and tea together at the city center. We went to DAAD Headquarters in Bonn and learned about DAAD policy in internationalization.  




Medan (October 2014)
What I love about Medan, is its culinary and a new train line: they are absolutely gorgeous and convenient! I just strolled to the train station from the airport and, the next hour I arrived at the train station. It was just like in Japan or Malaysia. Just to bring your luggage directly to the city center without hesitation about the mode of transportation. Wish Bandara Soetta will have such a nice train station very soon!

Manado and North Sulawesi (November 2014)
It was like a dream come true for me when I got a chance to visit Manado eventually. It is absolutely a different atmosphere and not to mention that I must spend 5 hours flying from hometown. I saw so many coconut trees, looked over a gorgeous seaside and experienced a nice city surrounded by mountains. I didn't come only for a conference, but also to meet my mentor/seniors at Curtin, and to develop a network with friends from different institutions. We also had a chance to visit waruga, a beautiful Lake Tondano, and geothermal site Lahendong at Tomohon. I really enjoyed lunch at Lake Tondano and wished I could return one day with hubby to enjoy the beautiful North Sulawesi.

Jakarta (December 2014)
This time I came to meet Australia Awards Alumni Reference Group annual meeting 2014. I learned about how to develop network and to work in a group with friends from different institutions/offices from all over Indonesia. There was an inspiring speech from Prof Mari Elka Pangestu (our former Minister of Trade) about knowledge based economy. This is certainly something to be developed for Indonesian people. I was pleased with this meeting and, certainly promised to work hard in this division. Insya Allah. Amin.

The photo is courtesy of ARG (http://australiaawardsindonesia.org/index.php/en/arg-news/377-arg-annual-meeting-2014)


Pekanbaru, 

Late Summer: Serba Hijau

Akhir musim panas tahun ini aku menikmati keindahan alam di Jerman. Kebiasaanku berjalan-jalan di Botanical Garden juga kulakukan di Oldenburg, kota kecil di Utara Jerman. Seperti biasa, pada akhir musim panas tidak banyak yang bisa kulihat karena bunga-bunga musim semi sudah tidak ada lagi. Berbagai jenis pohon-pohon besar dengan batang lebar dan daun hijau meneduhkan, serta tanaman merambat yang akan berubah warna di musim gugur lebih banyak mendominasi pemandangan di Botanical Garden.

Pemandangan serupa juga kunikmati di Botanical Garden, Sapporo, sebuah kota besar di pulau Hokkaido Jepang akhir musim panas tahun lalu. Serasa ingin menangis karena membayangkan keindahan kebun besar itu di musim semi, karena saat itu aku hanya bisa menikmati pohon-pohon besar dan beberapa jenis tanaman liar di padang rumput. Tetapi pengalaman mengunjungi BG di akhir musim panas memang berbeda. Keindahan alam terasa lebih 'mature', tenang, 'gentle' dan tidak semeriah musim semi. Semua spesies tanaman di BG juga bersiap-siap menghadapi perubahan musim yang memberi warna lain pada semua elemen mereka.

Subhanallah, betapa banyaknya keindahan ciptaan Allah...

Pekanbaru,

IQ to understand, EQ to manage

I read about this interesting summary "IQ to understand, EQ to manage" a few days ago under this post. 

It's been a serious debate between two gurus (Adam Grant vs Daniel Goleman) about the importance of having IQ (Intelligence Quotient) or EQ (Emotional Quotient). You could read about the debate in the link. 

After I have been working for several years as an educator, I have learned that I cannot rely solely on IQ. It is not about being talented only, but everyone needs this EQ to have a sustainable career. Some of my bosses with high EQ were successful in managing people and limited resources at the university to reach the university goals. However, some other talented line managers with numerous achievements were rarely remembered for their accomplishments but more likely from their particular behaviour to peer colleagues, staffs and students. They were efficient managers, but quite unpleasant to work within the long term.

The post has also pointed out a research on how EQ works as a strong predictor of success or performance at work. The managers with high IQ and experience but low EQ had a failure rate of as high as 25% on their projects, on the other hand, the managers with high EQ but high IQ or experience showed a less failure rate of 3-4%. It seems that a combination of high IQ and EQ is potent to get a high standard of success in any project. 

When I took a survey about my current project (internationalization), which is involving several line managers at different levels (university, Faculty, Department and Study Program), I've found that most of the managers were friendly and intelligent people. Most of them had pleasant countenances and friendly gestures to other people from different background. They like to help and collaborate, providing useful answers to my list of questions. 

I noticed that most of them were successful in other areas, such as research, management, or community empowerment, but don't like to talk about those achievements, unless they were related with my project. The managers were enthusiastic about this area (internationalization) and showed their point of views independently based on their excellent understanding of our workplace management style. They shared their best strategies and practices on how to handle a problematic situation or resentment from academic and administrative staffs regarding the introduction of new policies. I've found most of their advice was logical and adaptable to our current university situation.

All in all, now I could see why IQ is essential to understand the current situation (and provide a solution), but EQ is needed to manage a complex situation in the workplace. 

Pekanbaru,

A Paradox of Being Busy

This is a great thought. How many of us do like to tell other people that we're busy?

I am in the first row, of course, always bragging about how busy I am etc. A very much annoying attitude, to be honest.

Some people who don't say directly about how busy they are, also tend to look busy. It could be a sign when they don't focus on what you say or look frequently to their watches and always agree about everything we have said. This is quite ridiculous, but that's one tactic to stop people brag about something irrelevant to their attention at that moment.

We are giving an impression that being busy means we're in demand, more significant or important, and automatically (perhaps) more successful. So, if you are not busy, means either you are not efficient enough, doing something dull (uninspiring) or even don't know exactly what to do.

A paradox of being busy is obvious in my work environment. We could absolutely look very busy and pretend of being busy. This is because the fact that 'the more busy, the more productive the individual' mind set in some managers. The line managers tend to give tasks for certain people who already have so many things in their plate, with an assumption: the individual is more effective (doing the right things) and efficient (doing things right), so he/she could accomplish more tasks. They even have a mental list of some productive people just in case these people could contribute to their new projects in the future. Certainly, this is unhealthy because it could lead to an exhausted employee producing low quality output and causing delay. However, it is another problem when the employee agree with such arrangement.

There is another notion that to pretend of being busy could save us from being a victim of a new task or a new project. When we say we don't have time, then we know actually where our time is, and what shall we do with it, but we are not just interested to add more load, so we tell the manager that we're very busy with other issues. This could be a polite way to say that you're not interested, but then we must be careful with our frequent refusal, because in the future our chance to get some challenging offers is pretty slim. It could harm our long term career development and not to mention about our personal motivation at work.

I think this paradox of busy or pretend to be busy, is much more related to our attitude of complaining about how busy we are. If we don't have any problem about looking busy but still don't say a word about it (which is annoying to some people), then it is considered healthy. Meredith Finemann (2014) in her post has highlighted about using tactics to work smarter to avoid complaining about how busy we are all the time. These tactics are 'constraint the time': focus on the tasks at hand for certain time, 'use scheduler': to use time wisely and always in control of time, and 'cut the fat': cut all unproductive time at work.  

It really depends on how we place ourselves in this situation, but our attitude towards this issue is a big matter.

Pekanbaru,

There is always a room for improvement (leadership)

It is a very sudden change in life. You're there every day, doing your work, reading, writing, keeping busy about everything, and suddenly, you're in a situation to know what the meaning of your life and your struggle is. It is amazing how Allah always gives me a way to learn about it.

So, welcome to my current event to get to know myself better. 

It is nearly autumn somewhere in North Germany. I've been here practically for a week. The classes have been finished for five days. They were very hectic and full-time classes. We've just been lectured and involved in many activities for the Project Management course. The most beautiful thing about the class is that we've never been bored with the lectures. The topic was fascinating and very close to our hearts.

Project Management is a way to finish a project effectively and efficiently. However, another aspect of PM, people and their dynamic, is much more interesting to learn. This is the area where most of us don't have enough knowledge as Project Leaders. People are our precious assets, moving the project towards our goals. The importance of having people in the project and how to manage them is determined by how we treat them. This is where leadership is taking a significant role.

Our leadership style involves perception, vision, decision-making, negotiation, empowerment, delegation, legitimation, communication, etc. The practical way to teach leadership is to understand our power, leadership style, leadership competencies (skill, attitude, knowledge), and how to use them to make projects more successful. We also have to identify if we are servant leadership (servant-follower relationship), authentic (genuine), transformational (visionary and legitimacy), or transactional (reward-punishment). The most important thing about leadership is our power in empowerment and negotiation.

Everyone who wants to lead or become a great leader always has room for improvement. We cannot take the leadership role, but we must learn how to lead effectively and efficiently in any situation. To improve our leadership style, we must focus on our competencies, limitations, and existing power. 

Oldenburg,