BOGOR — The idea to establish Jack Ma Institute in Indonesia to develop human resources in the field of e-commerce was proposed at a meeting between President Joko Widodo and Alibaba’s Executive Chairman Jack Ma. The two met at Bogor Palace, West Java, on Saturday.
“We know that unicorn talents are mostly from India and Bangalore. They are from abroad. Hence, we want to develop the capacity of human resources in the country,” Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara stated after accompanying the president to recieve Jack Ma on Saturday.
According to Rudiantara, establishment of the Jack Ma Institute aims not only to supply talent in the country but also to make Indonesia a supplier of talent to other countries in the region. “(Shortage of) this talent is the number one issue in the world due to rapid growth in digital economy,” the minister added.
He said details of the establishment of the Jack Ma Institute will be discussed at the ministerial level. “It will be discussed in detail tomorrow on how we can utilize Jack Ma’s thoughts, as a teacher and also an advisor, in the steering committee,” Rudiantara stated.
In addition to readying human resources, he noted that the government had prepared policies for startup players. To this end, he said, the government had sent its representatives to propose an educational system to the Alibaba Group to address some matters, including regulations, startup players, and public.
“We have sent 27 people. Later, we will develop the institute in Indonesia whose systems related to players, community, and policy makers will be adjusted. Everything should be adjusted. The concept is like this,” he noted.
Rudiantara said while meeting with Jack Ma, the president was accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and Head of the Creative Economy Agency Triawan Munaf.
