Student Profile: Fadhil Muhammad, MPP Class of 2023

Growing up in Jambi, Indonesia, Fadhil Muhammad, MPP Class of 2023, experienced how government policies impact people's lives. “Jambi is a province on the island of Sumatra, and as it is not close to Indonesia’s capital city, it doesn’t receive as much federal funding as wealthier and more populous parts of the country. I believe economists can improve economic wellbeing through policy, which means improving the lives of people living across all of Indonesia’s 34 provinces.”

After graduating from the University of Indonesia in 2013, Muhammad spent a year at PricewaterhouseCoopers Indonesia as an auditor. The youngest of five, Muhammad had been inspired to become an auditor by his oldest brother, who works for Indonesian Supreme Audit Institution. But after a year, Muhammad wanted to have a bigger impact, so he joined Bank Indonesia.

“I felt like my job at PwC was only helping a few companies. When I got the offer from Bank Indonesia, I knew that I could help the society as an economist since the central bank’s policies are felt by all the citizens of Indonesia.”

After graduating from the University of Indonesia in 2013, Muhammad spent a year at PricewaterhouseCoopers Indonesia as an auditor. The youngest of five, Muhammad had been inspired to become an auditor by his oldest brother, who works for Indonesian Supreme Audit Institution. But after a year, Muhammad wanted to have a bigger impact, so he joined Bank Indonesia.Muhammad's time at Bank Indonesia started in the Aceh Province, where he was responsible for communicating the bank’s policies with stakeholders in the region. He also managed the Inflation Control Team Secretariat at the regional office. For his work, Muhammad was given the “Most Transformative Employee” award in the Aceh office. In 2018, Muhammad moved to Bank Indonesia’s main office in Jakarta, where he currently evaluates core banking systems to support foreign exchanges and monetary operations to ensure efficient banking services to stakeholders.

As part of the Indonesia 2025 Payment System initiative, which aims to help the bank become a digital central bank, Bank Indonesia has been providing scholarships to ensure its workforce is trained in data science. Muhammad was chosen as one of the recipients.

When deciding on what university to attend, Muhammad said he wanted the ability to study economic policy and public finance while also taking courses in data science and policy analysis from world-class faculty.

“I chose Harris because it is, to me, the best place to practice and grow my policymaking and collaboration skills with a diverse study body. The diversity of the Harris student body was especially attractive, as I hope to eventually know fellow Harris students working at central banks around the world.”

Muhammad is particularly interested in studying why some countries are able to grow and thrive economically while others face challenges. “Indonesia continues to struggle. By analyzing how other countries have grown out of poverty, I hope to better understand and address the root challenges of Indonesia’s economy. For example, I’d like to specifically explore why Indonesia—which has many more resources than Singapore—has not grown, while Singapore has managed to develop and grow successfully.”

As part of the Bank Indonesia scholarship, Muhammad will be returning to Bank Indonesia after completing his MPP at Harris, which he says is perfect: “Bank Indonesia is where I look forward to growing for the rest of my career.”

Muhammad’s long-term goal is to help the bank control the country’s inflation rate and boost its economic prosperity. “I hope that by gaining tools and knowledge at Harris I will become a prominent economist at Bank Indonesia, working to help make life better for all Indonesians.”