GERILYA Batch 2 to be Rolled Out in February 2022

MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

PRESS RELEASE

NUMBER: 2.Pers/04/SJI/2022

Date: 3 January 2022

GERILYA Batch 2 to be Rolled Out in February 2022

Solar Power Initiative Movement or GERILYA program, a collaboration between the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR) and Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) to produce work-ready workers in renewable energy, has received an enthusiastic welcome from many parties. As a result, batch 2 will be rolled out in early February 2022.

Director General of Higher Eduction of the Kemendikbudristek, Nizam, said GERILYA was one of the program samples his ministry had always wanted. "Students finally get out of their comfort zone and try to learn new things as well as help introduce renewable energy to the public," Nizam commented in an audience with GERILYA participants on Thursday (30/12).

"I am very happy to hear students passionately share their extraordinary experiences during the program. Beyond expectations, they said. They get knowledge and experiences that are impossible to get in class, directly from experienced mentors and through real practice in the field," Nizam emphasized.

Representing the Head of the Bureau of Communication, Public Information Services, and Cooperation of the Ministry of EMR, GERILYA Project Manager, Khoiria Oktaviani, reported that the GERILYA program would be continued in batch two under the Certified Independent Study Internship (MSIB) of the Independent Campus scheme of the Kemendikbudristek.

"Application is open until 7 January 2022, followed by a selection process. We've set a target to start the GERILYA in early February 2022 with targeted participants from various campuses and regions, and a priority on gender equality," said Khoiria, who on that occasion was accompanied by the Curriculum Team and GERILYA mentors, Zagy Yakana Berian and M. Reza Huseini.

Three GERILYA participants were present in the meeting, while four others joined online. Kavlin Rafhel Panjaitan (University of Udayana), Luthfian Ramdhan (University of Tidar), Mutiara Bening (PEM Akamigas) shared their experiences before the Director General and his staff. Enthusiastically, they shared their class and field experiences joining a solar PV company in a team-based project of the GERILYA.

Connecting via Zoom application from a house roof while performing maintenance on 4.5 KWp solar panel installation in Balikpapan were Resya Ariyani (ITS Surabaya), Muhammad Iqbal Sugiharto (ITK Balikpapan), and Khairillah Fathinnuzul Heryawan (University of Airlangga). Meanwhile, Maulana Afif (UNS Solo) joined from Boyolali when he was installing a 1.8 MWp solar power system.

In the meeting, GERILYA participants said that the program had helped change their view of the energy sector because they had the opportunity to get complete learning, from theory to practice, and play an active role in supporting the energy transition in Indonesia. Not surprisingly, participants have the confidence to introduce renewable energy to communities. In fact, participants encourage their juniors to apply for the next batch of the GERILYA.

"I've come to understand the processes that were previously taught in the campus, do these processes myself, and learned how to deal with obstacles in the field that are not entirely the same as in theory," Luthfian shared his experience.

"At the beginning of the program, I was unsure because I had never studied renewable energy in the campus. But with determination, it turned out that I received a lot of guidance from teachers and mentors. Each student was accompanied by both technical and non-technical mentors throughout the program", Bening added. (IY)

Head of Bureau of Communication, Public Information Services, and Cooperation

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