GITA Project

Growing Indonesia – a Triangular Approach (GITA)

integrates business – university collaboration, graduate entrepreneurship and enterprise creation

With a population of over 260 million, Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the world’s fourth most populous nation.

Current support for start-ups is fragmented and there is a need for a more coordinated approach by educational institutions, government bodies and industry in building Indonesia’s entrepreneurial capacity and in reducing reliance on foreign labour as well as outward economic migration.

Our work is aimed at embedding entrepreneurship education into University curricula and at creating Growth Hubs across Indonesia. These hubs are physical spaces with an incubation facility for cultivating innovation and exploiting new ideas applied to the local and regional economies.

Why does the EU support entrepreneurial capacity building in Indonesia?

EU funding through the capacity building programme offers a unique opportunity to strengthen higher education ties between Europe and Indonesia. Funding within Indonesia does not currently exist which would allow for Universities to capitalise on this innovative step change in activity.

Who are the stakeholders in Indonesia and how will they benefit?

The project operates at a national, regional, local, institutional and programme level.

  • The Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education in Indonesia and the Ministry of Trade
  • Universities in Indonesia
  • Students and academics
  • Local enterprises
  • Local communities

How will the project be implemented?

The project started in October 2017 and will run until October 2020. It is implemented in five stages.

Stage 1

This stage involves a self-assessment exercise of each participating University aimed at establishing the extent to which entrepreneurial capacity building is institutionally embedded. The HEInnovate self-assessment tool is used for this purpose, leading to the creation of action plans for each of the three components of the project: university-enterprise collaboration, graduate entrepreneurship and enterprise creation.

Stage 2

This stages involves a review of current programmes of study to assess in how far these encourage the development of entrepreneurial capacity building within students and graduates. This will culminate in the development of a comprehensive framework for embedding an interactive and progressive set of entrepreneurial learning outcomes (ELO) into programme curricula and career development planning.

Stage 3

This stage focuses on the design of a multi-level (i.e. network, institutional, and programme) learning outcome programme plans to embed sustainable state-of-the-art and targeted entrepreneurial learning pedagogies. This will involve engagement with external stakeholders with the University who contribute to enterprise support, guidance and advice within the student learning experience.

Stage 4

This stage involves the training and development of University staff in relation to the knowledge, skills and competences required to design and establish an Enterprise Incubation Unit within each participating University. Creation of a resource base for student learning, academics , graduates and early stage entrepreneurs, to support local enterprise development activities.

Stage 5

This stage concentrates on the development of physical Growth Hub space and creation of the digital infrastructure for the GITA Learning Network. The objectives are for Indonesian partner Universities to identify a space within their organisation that can be used to locate their Growth Hub, and for the EU partners to create the GITA Learning Network portal.

Quality management

Project quality planning will ensure the quality of all project activities, outputs, and partnership working through the entire life of the project. This will ensure that the project has a significant impact on the capacity for governance, strategic planning, and management in Indonesian Universities.

The Advisory group and External Evaluator will provide externality and produce regular progress reports and evaluate the extent to which the project delivers the aims and objectives of the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education programme.

GITA Learning Network

The connectivity of the different University stakeholders in Indonesia to each local Growth Hub provides new opportunities for innovation. Integrating the three components of the Triangular Approach has led to the creation of a new and innovative national entrepreneurship learning network embedded in each University’s differing activities, and also between the Universities in Indonesia.

The GITA Learning Network is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurial capacity building in Indonesia’s higher education sector and beyond in order to extend and maximise the impact of the “Growing Indonesia – a Triangular Approach” project in Indonesia, and within the ASEAN region. Its purpose is to connect its members with key stakeholders including local, regional and national public sector organisations, professional and funding bodies, enterprises, local communities including those that are marginalised, and other higher education institutions nationally and abroad.
Activities range from networking, training and consulting services, career planning support for entrepreneurs, teaching support for entrepreneurship education instructors, fundraising for start-ups to informing policy-making at local, regional and national level. The network operates through an online platform with local representations in associated GITA Growth Hubs.

The GITA Learning Network is aligned to specific local or regional requirements and also to the strategic needs of the Indonesian higher education and SME sectors. Local Growth Hubs are financially self-sustaining and develop action plans for ensuring ongoing financial and operational viability as well as ongoing access to funding streams by collaborating with public and private sector organisations.

The GITA Learning Network oversees the implementation, dissemination and long-term impacts of the project and its outputs and provides dynamic capabilities to ensure that the activities of the established Growth Hubs remain relevant, impactful and financially sustainable. Key elements will be the generation of new income and funding mechanisms for start-ups, benchmarking and knowledge-exchange.

The GITA Learning Network oversees the implementation, dissemination and long-term impacts of the project and its outputs and provides dynamic capabilities to ensure that the activities of the established Growth Hubs remain relevant, impactful and financially sustainable. Key elements will be the generation of new income and funding mechanisms for start-ups, benchmarking and knowledge-exchange.

The web portal of the GITA Learning Network provides access to state-of-the-art reference material for aspiring entrepreneurs and those already in business, instructors and researchers in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education, and investors.