Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia is emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s largest digital economy markets with favourable conditions for artificial intelligence (AI) development, though experts said the country remains at an early adoption stage and its core AI research and development capacity still lags behind several regional peers, including Vietnam.
At a forum on innovation, held within the framework of the World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development 2026 (WED 2026) event taking place in Jakarta from March 3–5, experts noted that technological innovation can only generate tangible impact when it is deployed at scale and supported by a sufficiently strong engineering workforce.
Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s correspondent in Jakarta on the sidelines of the event, President of the Institution of Engineers, Indonesia (PII) Ilham Akbar Habibie said the number of engineers per one million people in Indonesia remains low. The country currently has about 2,500 engineers per one million people, compared with around 9,500 in Vietnam – nearly four times higher. He described Vietnam as a typical example of how a nation can rely on engineering to strengthen its economy and drive robust economic growth.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto also acknowledged that Indonesia needs to significantly increase its engineering workforce. The country’s semiconductor industry alone requires about 15,000 additional engineers, while the broader digital sector will need around 150,000 more engineers each year over the next six years.
To narrow the workforce gap, Indonesia is stepping up training and reskilling programmes while expanding cooperation with global technology firms. Indonesian analysts believed that by effectively leveraging international cooperation and developing its technical workforce, the country could narrow the technology gap instead of merely becoming a consumption market in the AI era.
Speakers at the forum also emphasised the critical role of engineers in realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the need for stronger cooperation among governments, businesses, academia and international organisations to bring technological innovation into practical application; and the promotion of engineering solutions such as AI, digital infrastructure and low-carbon technologies to address global challenges./.
