Spreading the Conceptual Model Virus into Researcher Community in BMKG, Indonesia

In the previous training for BMKG researcher community, Tya and Wido from CM4SH Team had the opportunity to talk on our current work in the Conceptual Model for the Southern Hemisphere (CM4SH) project. With the spirit of sharing our experience in developing a conceptual model (CM) on Northerly Cold Surge, we wanted to introduce the term ‘conceptual model’ and its deliverables. To our surprise, our talks had brought many positive comments from 25 weather and climate researcher participated, and even inspired them to do similar things in their own divisions.

The training, which was held in Depok, West Java on 29 March – 1 April 2016, aimed to enhance researcher competencies and updated us with new skills related with weather, climate, and earth sciences. Conducted annually with different topics, this event had managed to improve researcher’s knowledge and capacities with its specific curriculum.  This year, various topics around the latest issue in BMKG R&D Center had been given. My part was on sharing the general description of a CM, whilst Wido’s was on the phenomenon itself. Beside our sessions, there are also a session on the ice core research in Puncak Jaya, Papua, to learn about paleoclimatology, and a session on using MATLAB to visualize NetCDF data. At the end of the training, Ardhasena conducted a kind of speech simulator in his session, the Elevator Pitch.

Frankly, it was my first opportunity to talk in such event. By reflecting my experience during CM4SH work and what I have learned from CALMet Online 2014, and by using a trainer’s approach in delivering the material, I described about conceptual and mental models, and showed to participants how fun it is to develop one. I added an exercise on how to draw a schematic out of an overlaid satellite image and weather parameter graphic as well.   As the reaction, there were colleagues who retold the meaning of CM by their own words, who summarized my presentation, and who proposed a follow up idea among our community. It excited me that I found them so engage, unlike with other lecturers. Not only having an understanding of what a CM is and its significance for our work in BMKG, but also that they have developed initiatives to make CMs or schematics by themselves in their own divisions! Some colleagues from BMKG regional stations even have asked us to assist them in the near future with the implementation. The excitement went on when Wido talked about the Northerly Cold Surge afterward.

Follow-up actions inspired by our presentations:

• -          New CM topics to be developed
• -          New research topics to be analyzed
• -          Improved way in documenting work and research findings
• -          Improved way in disseminating forecast information to the public

Overall, we loved the CM work and determined to share it out, to open up new opportunities, to infuse a spirit to do positive and productive things in BMKG.

:)

Big thanks to our team mates in CM4SH, Roro Yuliana Purwanti, Adityawarman, Muhammad Rezza, and Ardhasena Sopaheluwakan for the whole fun things; to our expert team, Veronika Zwatz-Meize (ZAMG) and Ab Maas (KNMI) for all their kind advises and support throughout the process; and to Vesa for his generous advises whenever we nudged him with queries.

-Asteria Handayani (Tya)-