Article and photos by Dr Ahmad Agus Setiawan, the 2018/19 ASEAN Science and Technology Fellow placed at the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education.
During my term as a 2018/19 Fellow in ASEAN Science and Technology Fellowship, I conducted a study on defining and evaluating Indonesia’s National Energy Policy to support Renewable Energy Development and the National Villages Electrification Target to utilise Renewable Energy in Indonesian villages. I worked closely with all levels of technocrats and bureaucrats in the Indonesian and ASEAN energy sector.
There were opportunities for me to meet and discuss with persons in charge and also conduct FGD, webcast teleconference, as well as workshops and trainings in renewable energy-related issues. These parties included the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in a ceremony, members of the national energy council, the ASEAN Centre of Energy and many more. Furthermore, I was invited as an Expert Resource Person in the ASEAN-German Energy Programme called Focus Group Discussion on Mappin of Research & Development on Renewable Energy Technologies and Policies in ASEAN, which was conducted in Singapore from the 5th-6th of December 2018. I was also invited to become an instructor for the Training on 1,000 Island – Renewable Energy for Electrification Programme conducted by Deutsche GIZ GmbH, where the participants are professionals from the Indonesian State-owned Electricity Company and staff of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy.
Thanks to the vast experience and knowledge on this topic which I’ve gained from this Fellowship, the General Elections Commission selected me to become an expert panelist for the Indonesian Presidential Debate 2019 on energy and environmental issues. As the former Head of the Renewable Energy Laboratory at Universitas Gadjah Mada, I am hoping to implement Renewable Energy Technologies and Policy more widely in Indonesia. Started this January 2020, I am serving at the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia (Kantor Staf Presiden) within the Deputy of Energy and Strategic Infrastructure that I would like to apply the learning process throughout the US-ASEAN S&T Fellowship to this upcoming journey of services for my country.
