"Transformative efforts, of course, need to be supported by the readiness of digital talents, as the agents of change, in utilizing those innovations," Plate remarked while inaugurating a building at the Widya Mandira Catholic University in Kupang, NTT, as quoted from a press release here on Thursday.
The minister assessed that NTT's participation in the digital skills development program is still lacking to which end he expressed optimism that universities would partake in developing digital talents in the province.
"Not only for faculties or departments that are closely related to ICT but also for all. It is also possible for graduates to hone their technological competencies. Use technology as an enabler and trigger for the emergence of innovation in whatever field you are focusing on," he affirmed.
To develop digital talents in Indonesia, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics has divided the program into three levels.
At the basic level, the ministry provides the Siberkreasi National Digital Literacy Movement (GNLD) Program, with a target of 12.5 million people. The program involves 34 provincial governments and 514 district and city governments.
According to Plate, in 2021, the program offered digital literacy training to 12.5 million people. The ministry is targeting 5.7 million people to partake in digital literacy training in 2022.
By 2024, the ministry targets a total of 50 million people to participate in basic-level training.
For the intermediate level, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics provides the Digital Talent Scholarship Program for high school and university graduates. Some 200 thousand trainings are provided under the free program.
Meanwhile, for the advanced level, the ministry provides the Digital Leadership Academy Program that targets to produce 300 digital expert mentors. The program is intended to train policymakers for the implementation of smart cities, electronic government, e-commerce, and financial technology.
For the program, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics has cooperated with four universities from abroad: the Tsinghua University, National University of Singapore, Oxford University, and Harvard Kennedy School.
Translator: Natisha Andarningtyas, Raka Ad
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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