1. The Role of Academic in Narrowing Digital Divide Budi Rahardjo Director of Research & Development Center on Industry and Information Technology Institut Teknologi Bandung 2004 http://budi.insan.co.id

2. Academic Narrowing Digital Divide - Budi Rahardjo 2 Summary Roles of academic –Human Resource Development –Technology Development –Content Development

3. Academic Narrowing Digital Divide - Budi Rahardjo 3 Human Resource Development Natural for academician Train/teach –Technical: IT specific workers –Non-technical: the use of IT at work, at home

4. Academic Narrowing Digital Divide - Budi Rahardjo 4 HRD in Indonesia Problems –Wide gap between developed area (cities) and rural area –Low-level literacy –Teaching teachers is one approach, but the quality of teachers varies –IT equipments are (still) relatively expensive and not a priority –Access (infrastructure) is still limited and is sometimes unaffordable –Formal certifications are relatively expensive –Lack of commitment in the academicians

5. Academic Narrowing Digital Divide - Budi Rahardjo 5 Initiatives Various initiatives –Upgrading teachers capability (eg. Vocational school teachers) In using IT In teaching IT –Introduction to IT to various schools and communities

6. Academic Narrowing Digital Divide - Budi Rahardjo 6 Technology Development Part of academicians job, especially who do research Develop technology that is applicable (affordable, culturally accepted) locally There are research centers

7. Academic Narrowing Digital Divide - Budi Rahardjo 7 Problem in Tech Development Development is expensive and fund is limited Production in Indonesia economically is not viable

8. Academic Narrowing Digital Divide - Budi Rahardjo 8 Content Development Academicians have knowledge that can be shared (help to share) Content can be formal and informal

9. Academic Narrowing Digital Divide - Budi Rahardjo 9 Problems in content development Lack of local / appropriate contents, especially for school kids / children. Contents in Indonesia are mostly entertainment & news Most contents are in English Culturally, we are not a reading culture. Plus low level literacy Sharing is not common

10. Academic Narrowing Digital Divide - Budi Rahardjo 10 Concluding Remarks There are still problems, but we are committed to eliminate them Some of the problems are global problems