This year's Indonesian Government programme "Sending a thousand teachers abroad for advanced scientific training" has dispatched participants to Japan, Australia, France and other destinations including the Saarland. Indonesia's Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs Muhadjir Effend chose around 1,000 of the country's most capable experts to deepen their technical expertise in this way.
And so it was that Indonesia's 16 best mechatronics trainers arrived in the Saarland to undergo continuing training via individually tailored courses organised by the Saarland Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Traders. It is remarkable that the Saarland was selected as a target location for the scheme given the fact that it is a federal state of Germany rather than a European nation.
At a reception held today in the Science Park Saar on the campus of the University of Saarbrücken, Thomas Schuck, Head of the gwSaar Business Development Agency, joined State Secretary for Economic Affairs Jürgen Barke to welcome an Indonesian government delegation led by the country’s deputy ambassador in Berlin, Mr. Perry Pada. The guests also included the mechatronics trainers, who have just concluded their advanced training programme.
In his official address, State Secretary for Economic Affairs Jürgen Barke stated: "We are delighted with this ongoing networking and with the long-term cooperation with our Indonesian partners. We believe that it does great credit to our status as an automobile location that the Saarland, a German federal state, is one of the destinations for this Indonesian state programme. Even though times are changing within the sector, our federal state is embracing the current challenges and maintaining its position as a major player in the car industry."
Cooperation between Indonesia and the Saarland
The up-and-coming island nation of Indonesia and the Saarland are looking to continue their collaboration in future. Cooperation agreements are being planned, especially in the field of innovative technologies. The first step has been taken. The successful continuing training provided to the visiting Indonesian colleagues and the mutual specialist networking that has taken place have laid the foundations for subsequent projects. The next scheduled major event is the 3rd annual Indonesia Innovation Day, a congress to be staged by the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education in the main auditorium at Saarbrücken University in June. The Indonesia Innovation Day is thus coming to the Saarland after being held in the Netherlands and in Japan during the two previous years. Entrepreneurs and Centres of Excellence seeking to showcase their innovative products and identify specific development partners will be amongst the Asian visitors. This will provide a good opportunity for stakeholders on both sides to explore long-term cooperation.
Germany's Saarland and its international partner network
Contact with Indonesia came about as a result of the activities of the gwSaar Network, which works continuously at an international level to raise the profile of the Saarland as an economic location and to actively encourage investors to commit to the region. Martin Bernhardt, a project developer and lawyer who enjoys the trust of the Indonesian Government and of the active network partners, has been instrumental in supporting business development in the Saarland in this particular case.
Thomas Schuck, Managing Director of the gwSaar Business Development Agency, stated: "The Saarland is well known for having rapid communication routes, and this is a major trump card for our location marketing. The activities with our Indonesian partners, which are currently focusing on the mechatronics training programme, have actually been instigated very quickly in conjunction with our network partners and the Saarland Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Traders. This has impressed the Indonesian Government."
Continuing training at the Saarland Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Traders
Niklas Burmester, one of the Managing Directors of the Association, explained: "Technical motor vehicle training schemes are our core area of expertise. Unusual training projects, such as the scheme offered to the Indonesian trainers, foster our development and enable us to broaden our horizons. This improves our chances of being successful training providers, even in a world of mobility which is characterised by digitalisation and alternative drive systems."
Trainers at the Saarland Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Traders, who are under the overall charge of Dirk Scheidt, are experts in their specialist field and are also experienced in adult education, both nationally and internationally.
They delivered technical and didactic advanced training to the 16 best motor vehicle trainers from Indonesia on a full-time basis (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) over a period of three weeks. The main components of the programme were mechatronics training, the basic principles of electronics, current braking and chassis systems, pulse-width modulation (PWM), signal transmission, CAN bus systems, function and diagnosis, automatic transmissions, CVT transmissions, engine management, high voltage drive technology, and diagnostic strategy.
The didactic element of the programme concentrated on aspects such as autonomous development and presentation of work sheets, deployment of a range of methods, and information about the dual training system.
The aims of the training were to familiarise participants with the latest vehicle technology and with the secure diagnosis of systems and to relay procedural information so as to create a perfect employment-oriented learning unit tailored to the prevailing circumstances of everyday Indonesian working routines.
Of course, the training plan took daily worship schedules such as Friday prayers into account. The Indonesian guests also spent one Sunday in Paris.