In March, we visited foundry students from Politeknik Manufaktur Negeri Bandung to discuss the advances in moulding techniques, processes and sand plants.
Welcoming viewpoints of more than 70 engaged students
The seminar was hosted by the head of the foundry department Mr Dr. Beny Bandanandjaja and Magister of foundry technology Mr Widodo. In addition to Norican Group, represented by DISA and Wheelabrator, companies such as Clariant and Allied Mineral had constructive talks with more than 70 attending students.
Among the topics to spark conversation and lively discussion were: identifying the most efficient ways to produce high-quality castings, and pinpointing how to optimize the use of state-of-the-art equipment, while improving and ensuring overall safety in modern foundries.
Seminar programme for tomorrow’s engineering talents
“Indonesia has made impressive progress on many fronts in the educational sector since the 1997-1998 Asian crisis, and with more than 50 million students and 2.6 million teachers in more than 250,000 schools, the national educational system is immense and diverse. It was with great pleasure that we – by way of our agent Citra Melia Diamond in Indonesia – took part in a seminar programme at Politeknik Manufaktur Negeri Bandung. The overall objective was to educate Indonesian foundry students by having leading foundry suppliers deliver relevant information on advanced moulding techniques, processes and sand plants”, states Michael Colditz, Area Sales Manager at DISA.
Economic growth points to opportunities not yet met
From being the 12th largest economy in the world, measured by way of purchasing power adjusted GDP back in 2000, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that Indonesia will be the 6th largest economy worldwide by 2020, meaning that it will have grown bigger than both Brazil and Russia. This is partly due to a growing middle class, expected to reach 250 million consumers by 2030 – and partly due to its richness in natural resources, as well as its young and increasingly well-educated population.
The latter is supported heavily by analyses from the World Bank and OECD, stating that education is central to the ambitious social-economic development agenda of the Indonesian government, for which human capital development is crucial.
At DISA, we welcomed the opportunity to interact with the 70+ young Indonesian talents who joined our in-depth discussions on modern foundry and the latest foundry technologies. We were impressed with their eagerness to discuss and learn, and we hope that both the Politeknik Manufaktur Negeri Bandung’s initiative to host such an event and the enthusiasm shown by the students present will echo throughout and beyond Indonesia.