An announcement
made by the Ministry
of Communication and Informatics (KOMINFO) highlighted the launch of
the Del Arrbey Coding and Start-up Academy (DACSA). DACSA’s objective is to
produce talents with programming or coding skills that will satisfy the need
for human resources in response to the Industrial Revolution 4.0.
The Minister of Communications and
Informatics Rudiantara showed appreciation for the launch of the Del Arrbey
Coding and Start-up Academy (DACSA) which aims to meet the needs of the human
resources (HR) for programming and coding talents. According to him, Indonesia
is lagging behind its neighbours, especially Singapore, at present.
“The big issue that Indonesia has is the
lack of people equipped with the knowledge of coding. Coding is not just the
language of the program, but also it is the reason behind the creation of a new
process. Coding is late in Indonesia is. Coding is missing in Indonesia,” he said
during the launch of Del Arrbey Coding and Start-up Academy (DACSA) in Sopo Del
Tower Jakarta, on 31 May 2018.
The Minister mentioned three stages in the
introduction of coding, “Start with the long term, then the short term, and
continued promotion and communication.”
According to him, long term meant including
coding in the SMK curriculum. It needs to be done; he had submitted the
initiative to the previous Minister of Education and Culture (KEMDIKBUD),
Anies Baswedan, as well as the current Minister in office, Muhadjir Effendy.
"The sources of talents in the digital
world start-up are collectively known as the 3Bs: the Bay area in San
Francisco, Beijing, and Bangalore. Indonesia is late. Coding has been taught in
Singapore even before kindergarten. We cannot compare to Singapore, but the
idea is similar,” he added.
Short term meant that students should be
encouraged to learn at home on their own at the high school level.
As for promotion and communication, Indonesia
can initiate activities involving coding such as coding day, coding camp, and
even offer coding internships.
Introducing coding is one way to deal with the
Industrial Revolution 4.0. The Minister said, “We must respond by accepting the
change. The industrial revolution is a result of the advent of technology and
we should adjust to by changing the process.”
Arrbey Consulting
Chief Strategy Consultant Handito Joewono narrated how the birth of this DACSA thinking
began. He said that it was the brainchild of some of the officials of the Del Technology
Institute.
“From that meeting, the desire to make
something more meaningful not only in Medan and North Sumatra, but also for the
whole of Indonesia, was born. And if possible, even in the whole world. Let's
start with the Del Arrbey Coding and Start-up Academy (DACSA),” he added.
Mr Handito also hopes that this activity will aid
other start-ups in becoming the next unicorn. Unicorns are companies that have
reached US$1 billion in valuation.