Wira Nastainul Hakim
📍 Bogor, Indonesia
📧 wira.hakim@giz.de
🔗Vancouver Summer Program, Class of 2016
📝 Forestry / Human Capacity Development
When we first met Mr. Wira Nastainul Hakim in 2016, he was the first student from Indonesia participating in the UBC Forestry Vancouver Summer Program (VSP). Wira spent four years studying forest management and graduated from Bogor Agricultural University (Institut Pertanian Bogor, IPB) with a Bachelor of Forestry degree in 2017. He lives in Bogor, Indonesia with his wife and his son who was born last year. Wira is working for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Indonesia. It is our great pleasure to reconnect with Wira, share his learning experience at UBC, and how it has influenced his career development.
With UBC Forestry VSP instructor Dr. Clive Welham
Q: What were your favourite VSP memories? What knowledge and skills did you gain from this learning experience?
A: My favourite part of VSP was that I learned about a new culture and valuable knowledge and practical skills. Through VSP, I met instructors and students from places around the world and had to use English to communicate with each other on forestry and culture-related subjects within a short period of time. Before going to Canada, I did not have much confidence in my English communication skills and felt embarrassed when I had to talk to someone in English. During my time at UBC, I had lots of opportunities to socialize with Canadians, Indonesians that lived in Vancouver, and people from many other countries, which forced me to practice English daily and helped me boost my confidence level rapidly. My student mentor at VSP also offered me lots of encouragement and support. The program also gave me insights into the different learning styles being used in Indonesia and Canada. At UBC, there was a great balance in the classroom and outdoor learning, which I appreciated very much. The courses were very well organized from the introduction all the way to the final test. My instructors were very friendly and they made the content relevant to my study and the learning atmosphere was really fun.
With UBC Forestry VSP student staff Michael Zhan
Q: How has the UBC learning experience been affecting your career planning and development?
A: The VSP made me realize the importance of taking challenges and stepping out of our comfort zones. This international learning experience offered me the perfect learning environment and helped me push myself to practice English every day. It is extremely helpful for me to be able to communicate with people from many other countries. Before joining VSP, I only had an ordinary plan, which was to finish my study and try to find a job. After attending the program, I realized that my options were expanded. Opportunities came when I had more proficient English communication skills. I spent some time re-planning my career pathway. When the right timing comes, I would like to go back to UBC and become a graduate student in a Forestry or MBA program. Because of the excellent program offered by UBC as well as the kindness of people I have interacted, Canada to me feels like a second home.
Q: To someone who might be interested in the VSP, what would you like to tell them?
A: You won’t regret making this decision. I would like to encourage you to explore the different learning styles offered by UBC. It will provide you with new learning experiences and connections with people from all around the world. You can choose topics that are more relevant to your own program study and have lots of fun!
At GIZ, Wira is currently a Junior Advisor in Human Capacity Development for the Forest and Climate Change Programme (FORCLIME). The FORCLIME provides assistance on human resource capacity development at both national and sub-national levels in order to support sustainable forest management in Indonesia. FORCLIME’s assistance is in line with the Government of Indonesia’s policy to improve human resource capacities in the forestry sector and adapt to the global challenges in the ASEAN Economic Community. It is also in line with the vision of the Center of Environment and Forestry Education and Training (CEFET, an institution under the Indonesian Ministry) to become the “center of excellence” in the development of forestry training at the ASEAN level. Wira’s current placement is in the CEFET and his interest is to facilitate projects that can strengthen the management capacities of education and training institutions. Lessons learned from the regions will be used for the improvement of teaching materials and policies at the central level. In this process, other stakeholders are also encouraged to participate and provide inputs to improve policies and teaching materials developed by the CEFET.
Q: How have you been adjusting to this ‘new normal’ caused by Covid-19?
A: We know that Covid-19 pandemic has been affecting people in many countries. We have to live and work by adjusting to the ‘new normal’. I have to change my habits from a conventional (offline) approach to an online approach. In my work life, I already conducted several meetings and also several Webinars to implement any kind of activities. In the beginning, it was very hard to work from home, but we had to adapt to the new ways of working and adjust our limitations. We had to connect through the internet to reduce the risk of transmission. Indonesia is a very large country and we need more effort to gather people from different regions. The online approach has been a blessing in disguise. I believe that we have opened a new era of communication and learning from this pandemic. It has been offering lots of new opportunities and ways to work together.
Wira feels very enjoyable and grateful for what he has been doing. However, he still wants to encourage himself to develop new skills and make more progress upon what he has already achieved. It is important for him to make the next set of goals for the future. Studying at UBC is still on his wish list. He is hoping to try his best to get scholarships and pursue his dream at UBC when the situation allows. He still often thinks about the Tim Hortons inside the beautiful building of the Faculty of Forestry.
Edited by Xinxin Zhu