French School Backs Govt IT Initiative

After United States-based technology giant Apple, another foreign organization has expressed its commitment to supporting the governments initiative to improve human resource development in information and communications technology (ICT).

French programming school 42 signed an agreement with online tax-payment startup On-line Pajak to open tuition-free coding school LAcademie in Jakarta. The signing of the agreement was witnessed by Information and Communications Minister Rudiantara.

42s name is a reference to the science fiction book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by British author Douglas Adams, in which the number 42 is the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything".

The school will give opportunities to students to learn programming skills through project-based study using its syllabus. The first enrollment period will open in September next year with a target of 150 students for a three-year program.

Olivier Ducourant, a 42 representative, said LAcademie will endorse an egalitarian mode of education where students are evaluated based on their merits alone. After finishing the three-year course, students are expected to meet the growing demand for IT experts.

"Anyone of legal age, which is 17 years old in Indonesia, is welcome to apply for a place at LAcademie. No graduation certificates are required," said OnlinePajak founder and director Charles Guinot, adding that applicants would only have to pass the entrance exam.

Founded by French telecommunication tycoon Xavier Niel in 2013, 42 has opened branches in the United States, Romania, Ukraine, South Africa, Bulgaria, Moldova, Belgium, Russia and Morocco. LAcademie in Jakarta will be the first programming school modeled after 42 in Asia.

Earlier this year, US tech giant Apple opened its first developer academy in Asia located in the outskirts of Jakarta as part of its move to comply with a government regulation on local content requirements.

The newly opened academy is the third in the world, with two others located in Italy and Brazil.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, Minister Rudiantara said improving human capital in ICT was one of the governments longterm priorities in order to cope with shortages of competent ICT experts.

"One of our biggest challenges [...] in developing the digital economy is a lack of human resources. We need more computer engineers and programmers," Rudiantarasaid, adding that the shortage had led several tech companies to hire foreign experts.

Previously, Bandung Institute of Technology rector Kadarsah Suryadi said Indonesia only had 2,671 engineers per 1 million people (pome). The ratio is far below other Southeast Asian neighbors, such as Malaysia (3,333 engineers pome), Thailand (4,121 engineers pome) and Vietnam (9,037 engineers pome).

Meanwhile, Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University predicts that the country may need 280,000 more engineers in the next five years.

The government has cooperated with 20 universities to implement a more robust ICToriented syllabus in an effort to increase the number of exceptional graduates in computer programming,

Sumber Berita: The Jakarta Post hal. 13 (18-9-2018)