Competition is healthy - even between countries. Serene Leow examines how Indonesia is using ICT to boost its standing among its neighbours.
A tongue-in-cheek website, ‘International Number Ones: Because every country is best at something’, features a map embellished with 114 pins noting what different countries are renowned for. Kenya is famous for its roses, for example, Canada for its fruit juice drinkers, Switzerland for its hospital beds, Indonesia for its palm oil, Japan for its robots, India for its cinema goers – the list goes on. In today’s constantly evolving world, the website is just one example of every country’s desire to excel – to be the best not only at something, but at everything. National competitiveness, in other words, has become a major fascination among nations today.
According to Harvard Business Review, national competitiveness refers to the ability of a nation to create sustainable value through its enterprises and to maintain a high standard of living for its citizens. Some see national competitiveness as a macroeconomic phenomenon, driven by variables like exchange and interest rates and government deficits. Others argue that competitiveness is a function of cheap and abundant labour. Yet another group of people associate competitiveness with bountiful natural resources. While these definitions are limitless, every country strives to be number one on the world map and to make itself socially, economically and politically desirable for people to live in. What then, does this mean to Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,508 islands and, with a population of more than 230 million people, stands as the world’s fourth most populous country?
Sutanto Hartono, General Manager of Microsoft Indonesia, believes that the country has boundless potential to increase its national competitiveness. With one of the most stable economies in the region, Indonesia has the economic capacity to create a high standard of living for its citizens. Second, it has an extensive labour force, so it has the human resources needed to support innovation. Thirdly, it is abundant in natural resources, especially in oil and minerals. All these factors aid the nation’s quests to be more competitive. Yet, these advantages also inevitably give rise to certain disadvantages. One major challenge faced by Indonesia is its digital divide – due in part to its diversity of culture, dispersed geography and wide gap in socio-economic levels.
Around 40 million Indonesians use the internet, and yet internet penetration is still low, at 17 percent. The Indonesian government wants to push that figure to 50 percent by 2015. This year, the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (BRTI) spent US$38 million in an effort to connect the country’s 72,000 villages with broadband internet cabling.
Technology providers are playing a key role in the digital inclusion effort. Through technological milestones and strong partnerships with governments, NGOs, educators and academics, Microsoft has come up with the Citizenship ‘Unlimited Potential’ programme, an initiative focused on delivering solutions in education, innovation and job opportunities – three interrelated areas that are fundamental to economic growth. In other words, Microsoft is tapping the unlimited potential, or in Bahasa Indonesia, the ‘potensi yang tak terbatas’ of technology, to bridge the digital divide and advance Indonesia competitively.
For example, Microsoft has been working hand-in-hand with the government and other stakeholders to transform education in the country. “Indonesia is so spread out in 17,000 islands. If the IT infrastructure can be improved in the main islands, education can be carried out through e-learning, and the gap between the quality of education in bigger cities and remote areas can be reduced,” said Hartono. By ensuring that the standards of education across Indonesia are of high-quality and uniform, the nation would therefore increase its national competitiveness.
The steps taken to bridge the education divide using IT include the following:
In kindergartens
Affordable solutions for going digital have been provided with online portals like Live@edu – a free online suite which enables collaboration and communication among students, teachers and parents. It has an email system, Office Web Apps, web-messenger, blog and online storage systems. In 2009, more than 130,000 Indonesian students enjoyed the benefits of Live@edu. There has been an approximately 46 percent increase this year, with more than 190,000 students now using Live@edu in schools.
In primary schools and higher education institutes
Free technology has been given to students, such as through DreamSpark.com, an initiative which provides free-of-charge Microsoft software to students. In 2009, some 24,000 students were given access to these tools. Since then, another 82,000 students have been exposed, bringing the total number of students that have access to the software tools to 106,000.
Student-2-Business and IT Academy programmes have also provided technology training to more than 10,000 students in Microsoft Innovation Centres (MIC) located in five universities: University of Indonesia (UI), Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Tenth of November Institute of Technology (ITS) and Pelita Harapan University (UPH). MICs have also provided students with access to learn about the latest Microsoft technologies.
After graduation
Opportunities for entrepreneurship have been enabled with the provision of accessibility to Microsoft software and technology. This has been achieved through the BizSpark and WebsiteSpark programmes. The initiative provides technology training through the BizSpark camp programme, as well as business readiness through Spark Gathering activities. In addition, it works hand-in-hand with other institutions, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to provide additional business support through business competition and relationships with investors.
For teachers
To aid in the proliferation of digital literacy, teachers have been introduced to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). For instance, IT-Capacity building for teachers and students, which entails ICT and Digital Literacy trainings, has been provided through peer-coaching. Since its implementation, the programme has trained 22,000 teachers, in turn creating a butterfly effect and affecting 13 million students in 12 provinces in Indonesia.
Other efforts have also been made to bridge the digital divide and increase competitiveness, particularly in the areas of rural computing to enable jobs and opportunities, said Hartono. By collaborating with local governments, businesses and local NGOs, Microsoft seeks to address the marginalisation of farmers and workers through the Community Technology Skills Programme (CTSP). As of today, Microsoft has built over 120 Community Technology Centres (CTC) throughout Indonesia to introduce IT to communities in the hope of “widening their horizons and empowering them to make informed choices”.
One such community is in Bantul, Yogyakarta. Through IT, the community has learned to search for information on the internet and explore methods of organic farming. “The sales value of 100% organic rice is higher compared to ordinary rice, so the people have decided to intensify their organic production,” said Hartono. Such valuable information would help to bridge the income gap between the rich and the poor, and as a result facilitate Indonesia’s goal of achieving national competitiveness.
Another initiative takes place in Cilacap, where education in email, instant messaging and video conferencing has connected overseas migrant workers to their families and hometowns in Central Java.
With these programmes set in place, the road is paved for more e-government services in the future – something which can greatly aid Indonesia’s national competitiveness. “Using ICT can reduce costs significantly in e-procurement, e-clearance and improve efficiency by having remote services and e-commerce,” said Hartono. This could change the entire social, economic and political landscape of Indonesia. The opportunities are infinite – and this is only the beginning.