Philip Wijaya was born in Kudus, a small town in Central Java province of Indonesia, on January, 2, 1987 as the youngest child in his family. His birth is unique because he was born as a fraternal twin. His twin sister named Pamela Wijaya, and his elder brother named Peter Wijaya. Since his childhood, Philip has been interested with music. He especially loves singing. During his school days, he had won some singing competitions in his hometown. After graduated from high school, he desired to take music as his major for further study, but his parents thought it might not suit him best since he did not have any formal music education background, instead they suggested him to study engineering.

Then he decided to study Chemical Engineering in Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, the capital of West Java province of Indonesia because of his interest in Chemistry and Mathematics. He finished his bachelor study in nearly four years and graduated with cum laude honors. 

Although he found interest in Chemical Engineering, but he still keeps his passion in music and singing. Moreover, he became interested in education during his undergraduate study, which then encouraged him to work as an assistant lecturer and a laboratory supervisor in his home university after his graduation. His passion in teaching also motivated him to work as a Physics teacher at a Christian high school in Bandung. Apart from his work experience in the academia, he had also got some work experiences as a process engineer in several oil and gas companies in Indonesia.

After three years of working in Indonesia, Philip got an opportunity to continue his study abroad. He had successfully completed his master’s degree at Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), South Korea, majoring in Clean Energy and Chemical Engineering, with an Academic Excellence Award on August 2014. He then worked at Clean Energy Research Center in Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) as a visiting research scientist for another two years after his graduation. In September 2016, he started his doctoral study in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, and completed the program in February 2021.

Philip still keeps his passion and dreams to work in the fields of education (as a teacher, lecturer, and/or author), entertainment (as a singer and/or musician), and/or entrepreneurship (as an entrepreneur in the energy sector) for his future careers.

His philosophy in life is described as follows: “When I do all things with HEART, I do all things with LOVE, because LOVE is placed in my HEART. When I do all things with LOVE, I do all things with GOD, because GOD is LOVE.” He believes that success can be achieved when people do everything with HEART. He is also convinced of the importance of work-life balance and the synergy of science and arts for a fruitful (effective and productive) life. He is interested in science and arts because life is the synergy of both. He believes God is the source of life that is composed of the unlimited “artistic sciences” and “scientific arts.” He believes the ultimate goal of human pursuits of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding is to understand God the Creator, the greatest of all in the universe.

Education:

Major:

The University of British Columbia, Canada | Doctor of Philosophy | Chemical and Biological Engineering | September 2016 – February 2021

Korea University of Science and Technology, South Korea | Master of Engineering | Clean Energy and Chemical Engineering | August 2012 – August 2014

Parahyangan Catholic University, Indonesia | Bachelor of Engineering | Chemical Engineering | August 2005 – July 2009

Minor:

Faith Bible Institute | Bible College Diploma | August 2018 – May 2021