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BMKG sends-off 23 staff to UK to Improve Human Resource Capacity

Jakarta, 7 September 2023 - Head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency Dwikorita Karnawati officially send off 23 employees who received scholarships under the 'SDM Unggul' program, to continue their studies at 10 universities in the UK. The program aims to enhance the BMKG's human resources on the global stage.

"We still have a lot to learn. There are many technologies that we have to learn and develop. For this reason, we send BMKG employees abroad, especially to the UK because the technology there is more advanced," Dwikorita said at BMKG Headquarters, Central Jakarta, Thursday (9/10).

The 'SDM Unggul' scholarship program is motivated by the future condition of the world which continues to face various problems. Such as climate change, air pollution, weather, and unpredictable natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

Data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shows that the most threatening thing in the world today is no longer pandemics and wars, but climate change that is approaching a global boiling point. The trend of global warming in recent decades has continued to increase, reaching 1.2 degrees Celsius.

As a consequence of this escalation, according to Dwikorita, the people of Indonesia and even the world can now feel the impact that extreme events are occurring more frequently with longer duration and higher intensity. "This is the fact. This is not a hallucination or nightmare and this is a global impact," she said.

BMKG itself has analyzed the impact of climate change in Indonesia. The results of the analysis show that if Indonesia does not immediately transform fossil fuels into renewable energy and mitigate global warming, by 2100 or at the end of this century the rising temperature of the earth's surface could reach 3.5 degrees Celsius.

In the meantime, an increase in global water hotspots is also occurring all over planet Earth. Not only developing countries are suffering, but developed countries are also affected. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects that if no strategic mitigation efforts are taken, by 2050 the world will experience a food crisis.

"Even FAO predicts that more than 500 million small farmers who produce 80% of the world's food supplies will be threatened due to the impact of climate change," Dwikorita said.

Therefore, BMKG, as a government institution responsible for protecting the Indonesian people from this natural disaster phenomenon, is well aware that the current condition is a call for transformation. One of the steps is to increase the capacity of BMKG's human resources by continuing their studies abroad.

In this regard, BMKG has initiated the Human Resources Development Plan Program - a strategy to support BMKG's journey to become a world-class organization. The program aims to graduate 500 doctors who will be at the forefront of services, research and development in the field of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics.

"So please be serious, work hard, and work smart. We hope that with this (study abroad), we can save the world through our knowledge," Dwikorita said.

Summer Xia, Director of British Council Indonesia and Leader of Southeast Asia Cluster, said that the British Council fully supports BMKG's move to develop human resources. The British Council is proud to support the 'SDM Unggul' program, which not only connects BMKG with UK universities, but also represents an unwavering commitment to advancing the nation through education and cooperation.

Meanwhile, Deputy British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Matthew Downing said the program is a positive example of UK-Indonesia collaboration in science and education. This program will contribute to strengthening the relationship between the two countries. Through the British Council, a total of 30 UK universities submitted proposals to host selected PhD scholars from BMKG, and through a robust selection process, 10 UK universities were chosen as partners for this year.

"British Embassy Jakarta and British Council Indonesia will continue to support the BMKG program which targets 500 BMKG PhDs by 2030. The UK wants to continue to be Indonesia's partner in building a world-class research ecosystem and I am confident that this BMKG scholarship program will make that happen," Matthew said.