Visit to 'Institut Teknologi Bandung': Published on 27 May 2007

Last Friday, I was in Bandung to explore a possible partnership for a Research program with ‘Bandung Institute of Technology’ (ITB- Institut TeknologiBandung). ITB is one of the country’s centers of excellence in science, technology, art and it’s the top choice among Indonesia’s high school students.

Around 15,000 students are studying under 10 schools/ Faculties in the sprawling 70 acre campus. We had discussed about doing Hydro Geological research with special reference to Saline water intrusion in the coastal areas of Aceh. We identified few research departments who can form a team and then conduct research. The preliminary visit was scheduled on 7^th of June.

Interestingly, in the biggest Muslim nation, the logo of the premier institute ITB is a Hindu deity called ‘Ganesha’. Ganesha is considered to be the lord of intelligence and the patron of art and sciences, which is apt for a premier educational institution. This shows how strong the influence of Hinduism in many parts of Indonesia. The address of the institute itself is ITB, Ganesha Road no. 10, Bandung, West Java.

The city is just 180 Km away from Jakarta which is well connected by road, air and railway line. We went by a 7 seater executive shuttle by Cititrans network which has a frequency of every 30 minutes. It exactly took 2 hours from Jakarta to Bandung on Cipularang toll road. Its very dangerous drive between 100- 120 Kmph, mostly on the narrow emergency parking lane on the extreme left. But that’s the best way to reach the destination with in two hours in just around USD 7!!

Bandung is Indonesia's fourth largest city located at around 2500 feet above sea level, surrounded by volcanic mountains. Because of its elevation, the city is cooler than most Indonesian cities with an average temperature of 23.6 through out the year. During the week ends, people from Jakarta flock this city for shopping and relaxing. So, we couldn’t get a nice hotel to stay during the week end, and I had to travel back to Jakarta immediately after completing the work in Bandung.