Institut Teknologi Bandung

However, there is a little interesting difference in the series this time. The discussion, titled “G10 Talk: Indonesian Women in the Global Order” is filled with the success stories of female ITB alumni from various countries, who are triumphant in each of their professional or academic fields.

The emancipation brought by R.A. Kartini never vanished from the eyes of Indonesians. The role of women in engineering and academic realms gradually emerge. It can be said that the 21st century became real, significant evidence of women’s role in the world – that now humans are at the stage where the mind distinguishes more than biological standards.

The equality that Kartini demonstrated has encouraged Indonesia to take the lead on this perspective. A notable example is the election of Megawati Soekarnoputri as the 4th President of the Republic of Indonesia. At the time, Indonesia was one of the first Asian countries with a female president. Even in the ITB environment, the role of women in the 21st century is even more heard aloud. With Prof. Reini Wirahadikusumah, Ph.D., chosen as the first female rector of ITB for the period 2020-2025, as well as the equal ratio of students’ gender.

The discussion was moderated by Irawati K. Kandela, Ph.D. (Pharmacy ’93) who now works at Cour Pharmaceutical, Illinois and Mariati Paham, S.T. (Architecture ’90), an architect from Eisenmann Architecture and a professional photographer who now resides in San Francisco.

The session also invites two prestigious academic figures as source persons, Dr. Merlyna Lim (Architecture ’93), a professor from Carleton University, Ontario who was appointed as a member of the Royal Society of Canada in 2016 and among the list of 100 most famous ITB alumni.

Meanwhile, the other source person is Rina Priyani S.T., M.T., a lecturer from the Urban Planning and Development Research Group SAPPD ITB. Now, she is in the middle of her final doctorate study at the Department of Architecture and The History and Theory of Communities at the University of California.

The open discussion flowed casually, and five topic questions were prompted with ease. Attended by the members of the ITB Alumni Association from the various region of North America and Indonesia, the event ran for 150 minutes.

The session opened with a curriculum vitae introduction and source person profile videos, before finally entering the sharing session.

“What inspired you to grab an opportunity outside of Indonesia?” asked Mariati, the architect with a Green Building Institute certification. Spotting the most interesting question out of the whole session, both source persons were elated to share their answers.

“I want to become an intellectual explorer. My dream is to become like Indiana Jones, Marie Curie, to view the places that Tintin visited. I don’t want to live in the status quo. Of course, I had my doubts, but those external fears are easier to handle,” remarked Merlyna.

Going through a different life journey, the same question was approached differently by Rina. “I graduated during the ’97- ‘98 monetary crisis and all career opportunities for architecture ran out. From there on, a few mentors advised me to apply for training in New Mexico on 2002 about city conservation, a topic which I loved. It was thereafter that I realized, a lot has brought me here today,” answered the lecturer of Planology ITB.

A few other questions were asked during the session. Inspirational answers were given by both source persons surrounding the voyage of their life and the lessons they learnt in the process.

“Becoming a woman is not a barrier, however, it is a challenge. We may have less privilege in various aspects, but that what drives us to grow fast and develop strong,” told Merlyna the stylish lecturer (according to her current students).

Reporter: Madeline Abigail Lukito (Architecture, 2020)
Translator: Firzana Aisya (Bioengineering, 2021)