Special highlight: Letter of Intent (LOI) signing ceremony between ACI-LKYSPP-NUS and Universitas Diponegoro

Asia Competitiveness Institute and Universitas Diponegoro have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to extend research collaboration on Indonesia and Central Java’s economic landscape.

The LOI was represented by

• Professor Paul Cheung Director, Asia Competitiveness Institute, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
• Professor Dr. Suharnomo, SE., M.Si. Dean, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Diponegoro

The online ceremony was attended by academics and researchers from Indonesia and ASEAN.

As the guest lecturer, Professor Cheung presented a primer on Human Resource, Economic Competitiveness, and Regional Development in Central Java. He highlighted Central Java’s strengths in Human-resource related environments: ranking third in Financial, Business and Manpower Conditions and sixth in Quality of Life and Infrastructure Development. Central Java excels in labour force participation rate and employment rates, as well as net school enrolment rates from primary to high school.

Professor Cheung drew attention to the success of various policies in Central Java such as the Kartu Prakerja and public-private partnerships for a Digital Economy. The Kartu Prakerja matched the unemployed with job opportunities, addressed pandemic-induced needs with payout incentives, and plugged the skills gap in the economy, culminating in Rp731 bn in realized incentives and empowering 1,842,865 successful registrants. Public-private parnerships such as the Digital Talent Scholarship awarded 624 recipients with funding to deepen technological skills at higher education institution in Central Java.

Professor Cheung also highlighted Making Indonesia 4.0, which aims to revitalise Indonesia’s industrial sector and harness the Digital leap, utilizing the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and other emerging technologies. Targets of Making Indonesia 4.0 include maximizing the percentage of economically active individuals as well as enhancing employment capabilities, eliminating poverty, providing upskilling opportunities, expanding social safety nets, and matching labour market needs.

The session was wrapped up with Professor Cheung’s presentation with insights from Singapore, namely Singapore’s investments in education and attractive work-study programs. The government’s expenditure on education rose from S$4.3bn in 2000 to S$12 bn in 2019, resulting in a near universal post-secondary education participation rate of 96.6% among the P1 cohort. The work-study program includes 24 training courses, with the expected participation of 600 trainees and 268 companies in 2020. Professor Cheung also shed light on SkillsFuture and various initiatives from Smart Nation Singapore.

ACI looks forward to maintaining our long-standing partnership with Universitas Diponegoro.

View the session recording and download the presentation slides below.