Jababeka, President University and TUM Asia Ready to Develop Education and Technology SEZ in Kota Jababeka Cikarang

CIKARANG is now one of the largest industrial cities in Southeast Asia. In the Jababeka industrial area, Cikarang- Bekasi, which covers an area of 5,600 hectares, there are now more than 2,000 national and multinational companies from 30 countries in the world.

Jababeka City, which is integrated with the Jababeka industrial area, is now supported by a variety of complete urban facilities, such as the existence of environmentally friendly manufacturing industries, residential areas, office areas and financial industries, shopping and entertainment centers, traditional to modern markets, health clinics and hospitals, educational facilities ranging from early childhood, primary, secondary to higher education, places of worship, and many other facilities. That’s why Jababeka City has now transformed into an Independent City which in its journey will still continue to grow sustainably.

Now, Jababeka City as an Independent City intends to continue to equip itself with various facilities. One of the facilities to be built is the development of research and innovation centers, as well as applied science education centers, all of which are tailored to the needs of business actors in the Jababeka industrial area, Cikarang- Bekasi, and various other industrial estates.

To realize this, last Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at the Fabrication Laboratory (Fablab), President University Convention Center (PUCC), Jl. H. Usmar Ismail, Kota Jababeka, Cikarang, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed. This agreement was signed by three parties, namely PT Jababeka &; Co., President University and Technical University of Munich Asia (TUM Asia).

TUM Asia, located in Singapore, is part of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) based in Germany. As an international university, TUM is currently ranked 37th in the QS World University Rankings.

In signing the MoU, Jababeka & Co. was represented by Sutedja S. Darmono and Tjahjadi Rahardja was always the director of the company, President University was represented by Prof. Dr. Chairy as Rector, and TUM Asia by Dr. Markus Waechter as Managing Director. Also witnessing the signing of the MoU were Thomas Graf, Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy in Jakarta, Bekasi Regent Dr. H. Dani Ramdan, Chairman of Jababeka Group who is also the founder of President University DR. SD Darmono, and a number of invited guests who were also present at the event.

Efforts to realize the SEZ of Education and Technology

Through the MoU, Jababeka, President University, and TUM Asia agreed to work together to compile a work plan for the construction of a research and development center integrated with the development plan of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for Education and Technology in Jababeka- Cikarang. Said Regent Dani Ramdan in his speech at the event, “The efforts made by Jababeka, TUM Asia, and President University are a breakthrough in the development of the Education and Technology SEZ in Jababeka. The presence of TUM, which is a leading university in the world, is expected to be a driver for various parties in realizing the SEZ.”

Continued Regent Dani Ramdan, Cikarang is an industrial center. So, according to him, the presence of the Education and Technology SEZ will help improve the performance of companies in industrial estates. He said, “I encourage the SEZ National Council to immediately issue a Decree on the SEZ for Education and Technology in Jababeka, Cikarang.”

There are three scopes of cooperation in this MoU. First, improving the quality of human resources through the establishment of education and training centers for workers and professionals in the Jababeka industrial area and various other industrial estates in the vicinity.

Second, the establishment of research and development centers to encourage the acceleration of innovation in companies in various industrial estates in Bekasi Regency and its surroundings.

Third, the development of facilities that encourage the exchange of knowledge both for students and lecturers as well as business actors in the Jababeka industrial area and its surroundings.

According to Sutedja Darmono, “The signing of this MoU is one of the concrete steps of our efforts to realize the Education and Technology SEZ in the Jababeka industrial area, Cikarang.”

Sutedja also highlighted aspects of human resource development through SEZ. Currently, he said, many companies are experiencing difficulties in finding workers who are competent, competitive and in accordance with the needs of the company. “The presence of SEZs, one of whose focuses is to improve the quality of human resources, is expected to be able to answer the challenges for companies that have difficulty finding competent workers,” said Sutedja.

Responding to the rapid development of technology

Meanwhile, Prof. Chairy observed that many companies face challenges in anticipating the rapid development of technology. “Companies that fail to keep up with technological developments will be threatened with their performance will decrease, and fail to compete with competitors who have applied technology in their business processes,” said Prof. Chairy.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, Prof. Chairy also sees that there are still many companies that do not have their own research and development facilities. “This is certainly a very serious challenge for many companies,” he said.

Prof. Chairy admitted that efforts to build research and development facilities require a lot of money. “Many companies may not have thought about developing their own research and development facilities. This is both in terms of hardware, such as machines and technology, as well as in terms of software, namely human resources and science, “said Prof. Chairy. So, he continued, the presence of the Education and Technology SEZ is expected to be a solution to the problems faced by many companies that do not yet have their own research and development facilities.

In his remarks, Markus Waechter acknowledged that TUM Asia, including TUM in Germany, is pleased to collaborate with Jababeka and President University in developing the Education and Technology SEZ in Jababeka, Cikarang. He said, “I consider the development of this SEZ to be an extraordinary effort. We at TUM Asia are proud to be involved in this effort.”

Markus Waechter also highlighted that the development of the education sector and the application of digital technology will be key in improving the quality of human resources. “This can be a key factor for the industry to transform its business. And, the world of education needs to respond to challenges that occur in the business world that continues to change and requires many things, such as up-skilling, re-skilling or new skilling,” said Markus.

On the other hand, said Markus, the world of education also needs to continue to improve the competence and capacity of its graduates. “Link and match is still a serious issue in many countries. The rapid development of technology, including digital technology, has the potential to widen the gap,” said Markus. That is the challenge currently faced by the world of education. “This phenomenon not only occurs in Indonesia but also in many countries in the world,” said Markus.

So, Markus is optimistic that the development of the Education and Technology SEZ can be one solution to overcome these problems. “That’s why I am very happy with this MoU and hope that soon it can be followed up with various other concrete steps,” said Markus.