On this occasion, I would like to tell you about an untold story and testimony from our former gift maker at research team, Novelita Wahyu Mondamina, or you could call her, Velly. She was graduated with an MSc in energy and sustainability: energy resources and climate change from the University of Southampton, and her hometown is Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
The path that leads to su-re.co
It was around September 2016 when she just finished her Master and just like other fresh graduates, she would like to find a job in the home country. Actually, Velly was my university mate. We have a similar interest in energy, so we talked a lot about education and job opportunities. I told her about su-re.co then suggested her first apply as an intern in su-re.co to know better how su-re.co worked. She did not have any particular experience related to renewable energy at that time, so she just gave it a go and got accepted as an intern for 3 months. Yay!
Since she has a particular interest in bioenergy and su-re.co had a project to develop a biogas bag, she was happy to be involved. Trials and errors were happening along the process before we finally made it to produce biogas for the first time and roast coffee beans directly using biogas.
Between January 2017 and April 2018, she became staff at su-re.co. she was thrilled because being a staff meant she could contribute to Indonesia's bioenergy development.
Here is her testimony when she worked at su-re.co 😊
What did you like about su-re.co as a company? She opined that there was always a balance between work and play at su-re.co. For example, after work, Tak always asked all staffs to learn surfing (which she did not manage to learn until she resigned) or retreat together after a full year of works. su-re.co is also very open to discuss any ideas. Tak always seriously paid attention to the information that we tried to deliver. There was a session every Wednesday that members took turns to present a topic to other members. It made us (at least for her) feel appreciated. She loves more in su-re.co, for sure you are not going to find this situation in another company in Indonesia, we can use t-shirts to work!! It does not mean that you cannot wear formal clothes, but we usually use it (such as Batik) for formal meetings with the government or our partners.
Another reason why she loves su-re.co, the company is very flexible about members’ religious background. As for her, she is a Muslim and must do five times prayer in a day. Although su-re.co’s members have various backgrounds, it is also understandable that Bali has powerful Hinduism beliefs, su-re.co gives us a place to pray. She could still work, play, and pray without any hesitation at su-re.co.
Lastly, she loves the interaction with different interns almost every 3 months. She was sad every time she had to say goodbye to the interns, but it became a more cheerful farewell as su-re.co usually threw a small farewell party to the soon-to-leave members with barbeque or cakes. On this occasion, a moment to remember among members can be created and reflected on what we have learned during the internship or working period at su-re.co.
What did you learn at su-re.co?
For this question, her answer, “A lottt!!! Practicing English in conversation and reports, learning lots of vocabs in English and free to learn other international language and cultures (Spain, Dutch, Deutsch, Japanese of course! etc.) depending on international interns and partners that work with su-re.co. She also learned to conduct research, collaborate with policymakers, and experiencing lots of challenges about how bioenergy can contribute to Indonesia's energy mix.”
During her work at su-re.co, she did understand how her work impacts su-re.co goals. She learned a lot and made mistakes but at the same time, she perceived it as a learning curve and growing process as well for the company.
Changed between before and after the time in su-re.co?
She answered she spent most of her time in research division (now Think-tank). Thus, you could expect that every day she tried and learned hard to write reports from one to another, from bioethanol to biogas project. Not to forget mentioning hundreds of revision requests from the CEO ;-)
Because of it, she feels grateful that she is now able to identify how to write a well-structured report (though she is also still learning every day) and help her students how to develop a good report. BTW, she is now working as a lecturer, obviously the experiences she got from su-re.co helps her in her current occupation.
A habit that is stuck with her is as s always write reports, it is very crucial to save the updated version of words. She remembers Tak has a motto “every 5 seconds, you should automatically do ctrl+S or command+S, to make sure all your words are saved”. She recalled numerous moments when we already typed lots of words, but all gone because the internet connection was bad, or we forgot to click ctrl+S or command+S. This becomes a habit of her every time she writes something on her laptop 😊
For those who would like to take the leap to su-re.co
“Learning is a long journey process. You can take something new only if you are willing to learn. If you decide to join su-re.co, please make sure you open your mind and be flexible to receive lots of new things in su-re.co. In that way, I believe you will enjoy, have very particular and hard to forget experiences in su-re.co. 😉 “