Event
Unleashing innovation: Embracing digital transformation in education in Indonesia
As part of the UNESCO-UNICEF Gateways to Public Digital Learning Initiative, the third Gateways Dialogue showcased how Indonesia is leveraging various digital platforms to enhance the equity and quality of education. The Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology shared effective practices and innovative strategies for transforming national education systems.
Indonesia, a large and diverse archipelago with over 250 million people, 1,300 ethnic groups, 700 spoken languages, and 17,000 islands, faces complex educational challenges. In 2018, 70% of 15-year-old students performed below the minimum competency level in literacy and numeracy.
In response, the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture launched the (Emancipated Learning) initiative in 2019, aiming to improve learning outcomes across the country. Since then, Indonesia has seen a 14% increase in students achieving minimum competency in literacy and a 27% increase in numeracy. Most teachers (over three million active users) in Indonesia are happily using the digital platform led by the Ministry. Strong leadership and technology have been key to implementing cost-effective digital solutions to scale and accelerate educational improvements and reform.
The speakers of the Gateways Dialogue were: Dr. Iwan Syahril (Director-General of Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary Education, Ministry of Education, Culture Research and Technology, Indonesia), Ms. Ruth Ayu Hapsari (K-12 Platform Manager, Ministry of Education Culture Research and Technology, Indonesia), Dr. Sobhi Tawil (Director, Future of Learning and Innovation, UNESCO), Mr. Mark West (Gateways Lead, UNESCO), Mr. Frank Van Cappelle (Gateways Lead and Head of Global Learning Innovation Hub, UNICEF), and Ms. Haruki Kurihara (Program Officer, Digital Learning Team, UNICEF).
Dr. Iwan Syahril began by sharing Indonesia鈥檚 vision in driving educational transformation and presented the Ministry鈥檚 technology ecosystem. Dr. Syahril emphasized, 鈥淲e have a shared vision and purpose 鈥 putting students first and foremost in the decision-making so technology can drive, orient that kind of behavior in the education ecosystem.鈥
Ms. Ruth Ayu Hapsari then explained the process of building platforms, including using novel technologies like Artificial Intelligence, that meet the needs of educators and their impact on students鈥 learning outcomes.
After the presentations, the speakers engaged in rich interactions with numerous participants of the webinar, including countries, international organizations and ed-tech experts.
The webinar also shared information about the upcoming Gateways study visit to Indonesia. Within the framework of the UNESCO-UNICEF Gateways for Public Digital Learning Initiative, Indonesia will host the next Gateway Study Visit from 1-3 October in Bali. Organized under the theme 鈥淐hampioning Innovation: Embracing power of Digital Transformation in Education鈥, the visit will detail how Indonesia is leveraging different digital platforms to enhance the equity and quality of education. More information is available on the dedicated webpage: /en/indonesia-study-visit
