GKS SCHOLARSHIP FOR TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING MAJOR. Traffic problems in Indonesia

GKS SCHOLARSHIP essay

- Motivations with which you apply for this program
- Educational background
- Significant experiences you have had; persons or events that have had a significant influence on you
- Extracurricular activities such as club activities, community service activities or work experiences
- If applicable, describe awards you have received, publications you have made, or skills you have acquired, etc.

"Nothing in this world is more simple and more cheap than making cities that provide better for people" famed Danish architect Jan Gehl shared his thought about people-friendly cities. This thought is simply relevant to traffic problems in Indonesian Cities. According to INRIX in the Global Traffic Scorecard 2021, there are 5 major cities in Indonesia that are among the most congested cities in the world, causing people to lose up to 62 hours in traffic jams, which causes various problems and losses. This is the basic thought in pursuing the field of urban transportation, namely the idea of 'car-based city' and 'transit-based city' in Indonesia. In this case, I want to learn more about how a city can combine these two ideas into one good idea, by adding technological advances and smart systems to traffic management. To fix the transportation problem in Indonesia, of course, I have to do a study in countries that are included as references for the urban development model. I saw big cities in the Republic of Korea that made significant changes in a short period of time to develop cities and improve traffic systems, which made me interested in studying Transportation Engineering in South Korea. In addition, Indonesia is currently in preparation to move its capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara City (Kalimantan Island) in 2024. I am eager to contribute to planning for sustainable and integrated transportation in Nusantara City, as well as share my thoughts during my master's studies in South Korea.

I have been quite fascinated about how the development of the innovations to bring the city into sustainable for people living, and for the definite example is when the city of Suwon in South Korea practiced an experiment, The Eco-mobility World Festival. The government made the regulations by doing the streets in the Haenggung-dong neighborhood to remove cars from the streets for one whole month. This event generates immediate changes to make them more liveable, car-free weekends, and also improvements for the further streets to be continued. For me, it is good to be implemented with the regulations to change behavior, along with the development of better public transportation facilities. No wonder Suwon street's great event succeeded in reducing private vehicles to be one of WWF's Earth Hour City Challenge competitors among other cities to promote renewable energy and prepare for climate change.

I completed my Civil Engineering studies majoring in Road and Bridge Design obtaining an Applied Bachelor of Technology degree from Politeknik Negeri Jakarta. During my studies, courses like transportation engineering, traffic engineering, and road construction stirred up my interest in the field of transportation engineering. Growing up in a city famous for its sustainable city, along with the curiosity I naturally had and the desire for industrial exposure and deeper knowledge in the field is my drive to apply for Urban Planning and Engineering Department, Transportation Engineering major in Yeungnam University. It also excites me to engage in activities that challenge my problem-solving ability. I participated in national competitions, conducted relatable research/thesis, and participated in national organizations.

As long as I pursue the transportation engineering field, I have gained a lot of abilities. During writing, my thesis about 'Performance Analysis of Signalized Intersection due to Opening of Jatikarya Exit Access Toll to Cimanggis-Cibitung Toll Segment Using PTV Vissim Software', the topic I took was analyzing the performance of signalized intersections by comparing the conditions of the intersections that changed from unsignalized intersections to signalized intersections after the opening of toll road access and also comparisons with conditions during a pandemic and assumptions if there was no pandemic. Analysis and solutions are carried out using the PTV Vissim software, which contains simulation animations related to vehicle flow and road performance results.

I had witnessed some progress and improvement of public transportation and infrastructure in Indonesia, especially Jakarta city. The degree of saturation traffic has improved significantly but slowly for over 2 years, according to Tomtom Traffic Index Report 2021. In order to improve the infrastructure quality, a public policy followed by the development of public transportation played important roles. During my university experience, I did a lot of competitions, one of the memorable competitions is the National Essay Competition about 'Responding to the Challenge of Jakarta City Congestion to Create Jakarta Liveable and Enjoyable City' in the Regional Talk Meeting of the 5th Territory Civil Engineering Student Forum Indonesia 2019. I enjoy myself as a student since the activities are similar to my college life and bring me to be the 1st place in the competition.

Moreover, The Indonesia Transportation Society is one of the respected institutions where there are transportation experts whose opinions are taken into consideration by the government in formulating transportation policies in Indonesia. Activities such as group discussion forums, webinars, and congresses discussing transportation issues in Indonesia, allowed me as the youngest member to get a lot of useful inputs from other members who are experts and made me sure to be like them in the future. From a family background, I have a father who has the same educational background as me, making him an influential person in my life to discuss with each other about the field of transportation engineering with my father, as my role model. Prior to joining the Indonesia Transportation Society, during my studies, I was also actively involved in civil engineering student organizations as advocacy and public welfare staff.

I have an academic background and professional experience that prepares and equips me for my postgraduate studies in Master of Engineering in South Korea. With my academic, professional, and organizational experiences, and to achieve my dreams and contribute significantly to my community, I have to equip myself with all necessary skills, education, and experiments. Meanwhile, my professional experience as an engineer in a local contractor and consultant company gives me a foundation and hands-on engineer work experience in Indonesia. I learned a lot about construction engineering, organization management, networking, and a lot of practical engineer cases.

I believe that I could contribute to Urban Planning and Engineering in Yeungnam University Graduate Program. Vice versa, I am convinced that the Graduate program, would help me to develop my full potential to find the criteria not only as a student but also as an expert, requiring knowledge of the field. I believe the Global Korean Scholarship would support me to make my dream come true.

One thing that applicants must understand is that the reviewers are interested to get to know the applicant based on his personal motivations and insights. They care very little, if at all, for the insight of other people in relation to this mindset. Therefore, opening the statement by using a quote from someone else is usually a major turn off for them. They tend to lose interest in students who cannot express an original motivational thought without citing a more popular figure first. That is not seen as an original motivation at all. Use your own thoughts and words to depict your motivation. That is what impresses them the most. An original thought that can be attributed only to you. No other influence is necessary.

Paragraph 4 definitely needs more work with regards to information clarity. The opening sentence lacks a true topic presentation. Editing is needed to enhance the presentation. Discuss the results of the thesis. What were the results as applied by the city ? Was it published ? If not, then why do you believe this should be noted as an accomplishment on your part?

The essay requires an overhaul in relation to a better developed presentation in relation to the prompts. The writer has drafted his responses but failed to properly place these in an effective manner in the essay.