Informatics Competence in the ICT Industry
On Monday (19/03/12), the ITB Informatics study program held a Guest Lecture in room 7602 Labtek V. This time IF welcomed 2 special guest speakers, namely Narenda Wicaksono (IF02) and Veriyanta Kusuma (IF99). The guest lecture themed sharing experiences while studying at IF ITB and working in the informatics-related industry was aimed at students so that they could get a clear picture of the world of education and the IT industry.
The lecture was opened with a brief introduction from the moderator, Mr. Saiful Akbar (IF92), a lecturer at STEI ITB, who briefly introduced the profiles of Kang Naren and Mas Veri, as they are affectionately known. Then the event continued with a lecture session from both speakers for approximately 15 minutes each. It started with Kang Naren telling about his nostalgia during junior high school which led to his interest in the world of informatics, then continued with his career during college when he became the Chairman of HMIF and participated in various prestigious competitions (one of which was the Imagine Cup), as well as his work experience at Microsoft and currently at Nokia Indonesia as Developer Experience Lead. Then continued by Mas Veri who currently serves as Community Manager at RIM Singapore.
From the lectures delivered by these two accomplished speakers, there are several common threads that can be drawn, namely that studying at IF ITB provides a strong scientific foundation as sufficient provisions to face the industrial world. In addition, the algorithmic and structured thinking that is continuously honed during college also has a positive impact on solving any problems faced after entering the world of work. Although according to both of them, currently rarely touch technical matters such as programming/coding or other fundamental things while working, without these abilities they believe they would not be able to reach the level they are today. "Without knowing the methods and mechanisms of building software, my company could often be cheated by vendors," said Mas Veri. Finally, the lecture closed with an elegant conclusion from the moderator who emphasized two main things gained during college: scientific foundations and ways of thinking.
The lecture atmosphere became even more lively during the Q&A session. Participants were very enthusiastic to gain more knowledge and experience from the speakers. Due to limited time, the Q&A session was only held for three sessions with three to four questioners per session. One question accompanied by an interesting discussion from the two speakers was about whether after graduating from ITB Informatics will be easy or difficult to find work. Kang Naren emphasized that ITB Informatics graduates are not the type of graduates who look for work, but are sought by jobs. So, there is no need to worry about not getting a job. Even at the end of the session, Mr. Saiful added that what should be worried about is how to turn down a job. Therefore, ITB Informatics graduates have only two life choices: choosing a job or creating a job. However, the most important thing is how to work according to personal passion. "When someone works based on passion, they will bring out all their best abilities to provide maximum results," said Kang Naren very enthusiastically. Mas Veri also emphasized that the prospects for Informatics graduates are still very bright. While opening various large company websites (Facebook, Google, RIM, and so on) in the career vacancy section, Mas Veri showed that there was a great need for informatics-related personnel.
At the end of the lecture, the Head of the Informatics Study Program, Ayu Purwarianti, explained that this guest lecture is planned to continue to be held periodically in the future with other special guests. In the near future, the ITB Informatics study program is scheduled to welcome Takeshi Ebihara from Batavia Incubator to give a lecture on ITPreneurship. Hopefully, this guest lecture can provide more experience and insight for STEI students, especially those majoring in Informatics, so they are more confident in determining their study choices or future careers.