Institut Teknologi Bandung

Michael Agung Nugroho, familiarly called Agung, is an FMAE (Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) student from the Class of 2018. During his study, Agung spent quite a lot of time in Catur Percama ITB Club.

As an introvert who doesn’t really fancy commotions, Agung revealed that he likes chess because through chess he could exercise his brain and socialize with his friends at the same time. In addition, he is also a member of Aksantara ITB. During his third year, Agung and his team participated in a competition called Kontes Robot Terbang Indonesia in the VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) division. Although they did not manage to win, they succeeded in constructing a UAV that can be flown automatically.

Agung’s Tips and Tricks on Studying: My Choice, My Responsibility

Being just 0.01 away from perfection, this Kolese Loyola High School graduate managed to achieve such a high index through ingenious means. Normally, the main component of a subject consists of the mid exam, final exam, and other major assignments. Because of the fact that major assignments are usually conducted in parallel with the final exams, Agung focused on getting the high scores during the mid exams instead. This way, he could eliminate the unnecessary burden at the end of the semester.

In the second and seventh semester, he got 1 AB index. Even though sad, he was also relieved since it removed the pressure of getting perfect grades in every semester. Agung also always tried to keep his motivation to maintain and improve his grades. “Whatever the results may be, we should always be grateful as long as we have tried our best.”

The Aerospace Engineering Study Program divides the final project into two stages. Agung completed the second stage of his final project while simultaneously working. Rather interestingly, instead of distracting him, his work actually motivated him to give his best on the final project. Agung was also constantly reminded of his duty of being a student, which further encouraged him to seek knowledge.

“My principle is that every decision has its own set of risks. I made the decision [to do the final project] while also working. If you want to make a decision, first identify the risks and make sure you’re ready for all of them. If you have made that decision, you have to complete it until the very end,” Agung thoroughly explained. He continued, “The main purpose of studying is not getting good grades, but the knowledge. Understanding the subject and its concepts is the essence of studying. However, grades are reflective of that knowledge, and getting good grades is [more about] making parents proud.”

In addition to clever strategies and a sense of responsibility to his parents, Agung also underlined the importance of being adaptive and sincere. “I live by this quote: We have to be clever like a snake, sincere like a dove,” he said. “[The meaning of] clever like a snake is [having] high situational awareness—it knows what to do, and when to do it. On the other hand, sincere like a dove means we have to do things with the right motivation. For example, if we study hard and then still get a bad grade, it is acceptable since our main objective is to get knowledge. Therefore, be clever with the correct motivation.”

Sharing the Knowledge

The first lesson Agung learned in college was not to judge people by their covers. ITB students are very diverse in general. Sometimes, witting or unwittingly, stigmas arise. Of course, these stigmas cannot and must not be used as a basis for judgment. The second lesson was to be grateful. Be grateful wherever we are, don’t get distracted by other people’s achievements and also don’t be all conceited.

Currently, Agung is continuing his work while also on the fast track program at ITB. Agung also intends to recommence the research he did in his previous final project titled "Meshless Steady and Transient Heat Conduction Simulation using Least Square Moving Particle Semi-Implicit Method."He is also considering the possibility of studying abroad.

Reporter: Hasna Khadijah (Environmental Engineering 2019)
Translator: Ariq Ramadhan Teruna (Chemical Engineering 2021)