Pandu Wicaksana is an award-winning Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) graduate with a clear mission. He wants to build the expertise needed to tackle climate change in South-East Asia. His job as a site engineer at Boskalis in Singapore is a great starting point.
“Even if it’s only putting one stone on a dike, I want to contribute to my country’s future,” he declares. It’s likely to be more than a stone or two. In his current role, Pandu, 27, from Jakarta, Indonesia, is learning state-of-the-art Dutch polder methods of reclaiming land from the sea and protecting coastlines.
International expertise
Top graduate from his 2019 ITB cohort in Ocean Engineering, Pandu is now a site engineer in the dike team for a revolutionary land reclamation scheme on the island of Tekong. “It’s my first job with Boskalis and my first time working abroad,” says Pandu, who started the job in September 2022 after working as a sub-contractor through a smaller enterprise in Indonesia. “Boskalis is one of the biggest names in maritime construction with large-scale operations and top quality equipment. I wanted to join the company to gain professional expertise,” explains Pandu. It’s knowledge that he can put to good use later, helping to protect low-lying coastal areas in his home country.
Pandu started his career in Indonesia, as a project engineer in Jakarta and port engineer in Balongan and Surabaya. Now, his focus at Boskalis is on project management, safety and coordination for Singapore’s first polder concept reclamation scheme. In his dike team, he is mainly involved in the construction of the inner slope cover within the polder dike. Pandu works long days, enjoying the interaction with his international colleagues and the open, direct, Dutch-style working environment. “You can discuss projects with anyone here and really feel confident in your work,” he comments.
Climate action
Pandu values the opportunity to work abroad and to gain international expertise and cultural knowledge – as well as construction experience in a company with a clear sustainability strategy. For its project work, Boskalis has identified four relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Pandu’s reclamation project contributes to SDG 13 on Climate Action – developing dikes and polders, protecting land from flooding. “We’re mostly busy with shore protection, building the inner dike and the stone revetment. We need this in Indonesia, where some areas are already under water.” Cutting down on waste is also important. Pandu points out that clay and soil from other parts of the project are being used to reinforce the dike his team is building. And, due to the innovative method applied – involving the construction of a higher dike – less sand is needed to create the polder.
Learning for the future
The ITB Ocean Engineering courses on Project Management and Dredging & Reclamation laid a good foundation for Pandu’s work at Boskalis. But the learning doesn’t stop here. Pandu is already looking into doing a Masters – possibly in construction management – after the Boskalis project ends. Destination? Singapore, the Netherlands and the UK are on the list.
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