The Indonesian Education and Culture Ministry aims to spur the development of Artificial AI based digital talent in the country through the Bangkit 2021 programme.
"We can see the emergence of unicorns and decacorns in Southeast Asia. Out of the 10 unicorns and decacorns in Southeast Asia, five were established in Indonesia.
“We need to encourage the emergence of more digital startups that are based on technology- and creative innovation," the Ministry's Director General of Higher Education, Professor Ir Nizam, stated during the virtual opening of the Bangkit 2021 Program earlier this month.
Bangkit is a Google-led academy set up to produce tech talent for world class Indonesian technology companies. About 3,000 students are expected to be trained to help them grow in in-demand digital skills in 2021.
Under the program, participants will gain various digital competencies, including machine learning, cloud computing, UI, and UX.
The Ministry of Education and Culture is also working with Google, Gojek, Tokopedia and Traveloka to develop Bangkit 2021 as an independent campus education programme. The aim is to create a new talent pool with expertise in digital technology.
Nizam predicted that in the next decade, the use of AI-based digital technology in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, has the potential to create an economic value of US$360 billion."This is more than 50 percent of the potential growth in digital economy and AI-based economy in Southeast Asia," he said.