The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (KOMDIGI) and Microsoft today launched ElevAIte Indonesia, an AI training initiative aimed at equipping 1 million Indonesian talents with the AI skills needed in the era of IT transformation. AI. Combining the words “Elevate” with “AI”, this initiative brings a spirit of collaboration between various elements of society, to elevate Indonesia’s global achievements through AI technology.
In its implementation, ElevAIte Indonesia will be executed in collaboration with governments, industry, educational institutions, non-profit organizations and civil society, to connect Indonesians to new opportunities created by AI. From increasing productivity, amplifying creativity, increasing the quality of work to accelerating innovation in a responsible manner.
The Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, highlighted the importance of a more responsible approach to the use of technology, especially AI, which is increasingly influencing various aspects of life. “Modern technology, such as AI, requires all of us, especially leaders, to become wiser, more patient and more accommodating. The development of AI offers great opportunities to improve the quality of life, but it also poses challenges that must be managed thoroughly,” said Meutya.
Furthermore, the KOMDIGI Minister explained that collaboration, communication and negotiation are essential keys to ensuring that technology can be used with full capacity and responsibility. “The use of AI cannot be done unilaterally. We need collaboration with various stakeholders, such as government, industries and the community. Through initiatives like ElevAIte Indonesia, we look forward to showing how AI can be used to strengthen the national ecosystem while preserving ethical values and common interests,” added Meutya.
The ElevAIte Indonesia program is a concrete example of this collaborative approach. By involving a wide range of ecosystem partners, this initiative aims to equip the younger generation and workforce with AI skills that meet the needs of the industry and society. In addition to strengthening human resource capabilities, this program also becomes a basis for Indonesia to be globally competitive and realize the vision of Indonesia Emas 2045.
ElevAIte Indonesia is becoming increasingly important given the growing need for AI skills among the workforce. According to the Work Trend Index report released by Microsoft and LinkedIn in early 2024, 69% of Indonesian managers said they would not hire someone without AI skills. Up to 76% are even more likely to hire candidates with less professional experience but who are reliable using AI, compared to experienced candidates without AI capabilities.
“With around 70% of Indonesia’s population of productive age, it is becoming increasingly important to equip them with the right AI skills. It is we, Indonesian talents, who will be able to move Indonesia forward towards realizing the vision of Indonesia Emas 2045. Therefore, ElevAIte Indonesia will focus on acquiring skills needed to adopt an AI responsible. From using AI tools to accomplish tasks faster and with better quality, to developing AI solutions to create added value and address the most pressing national issues. It is important to remember that AI transformation is not just a technological transformation, but a national transformation. We are honored to partner with the Ministry of KOMDIGI and the entire national ecosystem to empower Indonesian talents,” said Dharma Simorangkir, President Director of Microsoft Indonesia.
In order to achieve the goal of one million AI skills for Indonesia by 2025, the implementation of ElevAIte Indonesia will be divided into five main pillars, with Biji-Biji Initiative and Dicoding as training partners . Each pillar will also collaborate with different institutions, organizations and communities, to connect people across Indonesia to AI opportunities in an inclusive manner. The five pillars are:
- Enabling government agencies to foster mastery of AI. This pillar focuses on providing AI skills training for civil servants, to deliver even better public services.
- Expanding Reach through Strategic National Industries. This pillar focuses on accelerating AI transformation for Indonesian industry players, ranging from MSMEs to companiesto accelerate innovation and create new economic value from AI.
- Unlock AI for Education. The pillar focuses on revolutionizing learning in Indonesian education systems and training a new generation of Indonesian developers with AI skills. Indonesia already has a significant number of developers. The GitHub report shows that Indonesia is the third largest GitHub developer community home in the Asia-Pacific region, after India and China. Indonesia is also expected to become one of the five largest developer communities on GitHub in the world by 2026. one of the fastest growing groups of developers in Asia Pacific as well, with an increase in the number of developers on GitHub reaching 31% year-on-year in 2023.
- Enable social, environmental, community and impact organizations: This pillar focuses on providing AI skills to underserved, underrepresented, and digitally marginalized communities. These include women, people with disabilities and people living in remote areas. NUCare Global and Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert are partners in the program, with additional partners to be announced separately.
- Empower individual learners. This pillar aims to ensure that every person has the opportunity to learn. To kick off, Microsoft launched AI Skills Navigator, a platform that brings together all learning content from Microsoft Learn and LinkedIn Learning. Equipped with AI assistants and accessible via microsoft.comThis platform can make it easier for individuals to find AI learning materials that match their learning goal and interests. The platform will soon be available in Indonesian language.
Rashvin Pal Singh, Group CEO, Biji-Biji Initiative said: “Over the past two years, we have worked closely with the Ministry of KOMDIGI and Microsoft to organize AI skills programs. Through these programs, we have seen first-hand how some participants can obtain better jobs or lead more prosperous lives. Now, with ElevAIte Indonesia, we hope to further expand our existing achievements, as well as an increasingly integrated and scalable approach.
Narenda Wicaksono, Managing Director, Dicoding said: “As a technology education platform, we are fully aware of how new AI capabilities are now milestones in recent years. We’ve used AI to serve over 1 million Dicoding members. We believe that with the right AI skills, individuals and organizations can create innovative solutions that will positively impact the community, industry and nation. Considering these goals, we are happy to join Kemkomdigi, Microsoft and the entire Indonesian digital ecosystem. in the ElevAIte Indonesia initiative.
The Minister of KOMDIGI concluded by citing President Prabowo Subianto’s remarks at the 2024 APEC Summit in Peru, emphasizing the need for balance in the use of technology: “Great technological advances require leaders to be wiser, more patient and more accommodating. Technology has the power to bring extraordinary advances. However, it could cause significant damage to human life in a short time. » Therefore, collaboration, communication and negotiation are the best paths forward. We must respect international laws and regulations, but also understand common interests.
The existence of ElevAIte Indonesia should be a strategic measure in building an inclusive and empowering digital ecosystem.
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