As a part of the IEEE Indonesia Excom & Adcom coordinative meeting in Bali, we also visit Udayana University, to see the Advanced Research Laboratories, and also to carry out some sharing session to the academician and students.
Surely, first we had to meet the famous Prof Linawati, Dean of the Faculty of Technology, Udayana University. With Prof Lina, we established the IEEE Udayana University Student Branch 10 years ago, in my serving time as the Chairman of the IEEE Indonesia Section at that time, after a discussion at Fortech in Bandung.
This is a weekend lecture, so I just briefly discussed about the development of digital platforms as the core in current technology and business ecosystems.
And surely I spent a couple minutes to — again — make an introduction to the Complexity Theory. It’s always fun to tell people about this attractive thing. You can read more about this at the other part of this blog: [URL]
Our solidarity for Palestine is unquestionable. Our commitment for freedom, sovereignty, peace, and justice for Palestinian started decades ago after learning the apparent injustice that we naively expected to fade, aligned with the advancement of science, information, global partnership, etc etc. We were obviously wrong: the colonialism, injustice, inhumanity, crimes agains humanity etc are still here, leading the so-called civilised world.
With about a million people of Jakarta today, we attended a solidarity mob to show our commitment and solidarity for Palestine and Palestinian people. We delegitimate the existence of illegal criminal zionist entity currently occupying Palestine.
Like our founding father of Indonesia, we understand that the Palestinian people love peace, but they must fight for their freedom, dignity, and humanity. We must also fight the global misinformation and misleading discourses.
It is not a regular occasion of any serving IEEE President to visit Indonesia. In our official note, the first serving IEEE President to visit Indonesia was Prof Peter Staecker in 2013 — he visited Bali for an IEEE Educational Program awareness while I was only days starting my service as the IEEE Indonesia Section Chair. This year, Prof Saiful Rahman, the current IEEE President, is visiting Indonesia for a couple days. The visit is related to the IEEE campaigns in climate change; so it is also the theme of his visit. He is visiting Indonesia accompanied by the current IEEE Indonesia Section Chair, Prof Gamantyo, and the IEEE Malaysia Chair-Elect, Bernard Lim.
As one of the programs within his visit, the IEEE Indonesia Section co-organise with TVRI, an on-air discussion titled the IEEE ASEAN Roundtable on Climate Change. The event was carried out today in TVRI, with the IEEE President Prof Saifur Rahman as the main speaker, and teens of other speakers from the industry, universities, research centres, and government agencies as participants in round table discussion form — including yours truly, representing the IEEE Indonesia Section Advisory Committee, and the IEEE TEMS Regional Leadership Subcommittee. The organiser is TVRI, led by Dr Agnes Irwanti, a member of its Supervisory Board; and Mr Iman Brotoseno, the CEO.
I explored the opportunity of using currently available or currently developed technology to reduce and overcome the impact of the climate change. Climate change is always one of the motivations behind many collaborative innovations in the development of technology and technology-based business.
Since I work in telecommunications industry, I started by giving an example in mobile industry. The use of cognitive radio and dynamic spectrum access (CR/DSA) may optimise green technology by improving the efficiency and utilisation the spectrum by dynamic adaptation to changing network conditions and environmental factors. In urban areas with high network congestion, CR can switch to less crowded frequency bands, reducing power consumption and improving network performance; and it could also optimised to choose the most green-powered network infrastructure available. CR device can lower its power when communicating over shorter distances, conserving energy. CR also enables dynamic spectrum sharing among different technologies. For example, a cognitive radio network can share spectrum with existing cellular networks during peak traffic hours and switch to alternative bands during off-peak times. This optimises resource usage and reduces energy consumption in both networks. With the use of blockchain, spectrum may be shared among operators with easier accounting and cost-sharing.
In more applicative approach in the industry, the paradigm of of ecosystem-based business growth has motivated enterprises to share capabilities, resources, opportunities, so they can reduce the cost and risk, while also reduce the cost for the environment by many sharing methods used in business ecosystems, facilitated by massive digitalisation that enables process and capabilities to be modularised, reused, integrated, improved, and orchestrated among collaborative or event competitive businesses.
The use of technology like the AI and robotics play important roles in addressing climate change in various ways. Some examples:
The technology might be used for autonomous sensor-equipped robots, drones, and satellites to monitor and collect data on climate-related parameters such as temperature, humidity, carbon emissions, deforestation, and more. These technologies help in obtaining real-time and accurate data for climate analysis.
AI facilitates the analysis of huge amounts of climate data, helping researchers build more accurate climate models. These models are crucial for understanding climate change, its causes, and predicting future climate trends.
AI to optimise energy consumption in various sectors, including transportation, manufacturing, and buildings. Smart grids and energy management systems use AI to balance energy supply and demand, reduce wastage, and integrate renewable energy sources effectively.
AI-based integrated logistics management (4PL / 5PL) may orchestrate logistics services to share the logistics resources they have, with better supply chain model, supported by better demand and production prediction. It will also reduce the use of fuel and environmental cost to expand the transportation facilities.
AI to support agricultural practices, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving crop yields. Additionally, robots can assist in precision agriculture, reducing chemical usage and improving sustainability.
There are many more aspect of technology to be used to improve the environmental conditions, including the power management, traffic management, personalised education, etc. Other speakers also explored what we can do in the aspects of education, government policy, and others.
Even after the formal discussion, we still continue the discussion during the lunch session, after Friday-prayer session. I think it is also my first experience to accompany an IEEE President to a mosque to attend a Friday prayer session.
We closed the day with a more relaxing discussion during dinner at Plaza Senayan.
Computer Science Doctorate Program of Binus University invited me to provide an Industrial Talk for their PhD-level students. I offered them a talk on the evolution of economy and technology towards the era of complexity.
The day for the lecture was December 2nd. But since I was in Bandung that day, the lecture was carried out as a zoominar. The moderator was Dr Agung Trisetyarso; and the sponsor was surely Dr Ford Lumban Gaol, the Vice Chair of Binus University Doctorate Program in Computer Science, who is also the current Chair of the IEEE Indonesia Computer Society Chapter.
I started the talk by introducing the IEEE TEMS — Technology & Engineering Management Society, i.e. an IEEE society where I am currently a member of its Regional Leadership Subcommittee. TEMS aims to drive IEEE members in maintaining essential engineering management skills, supporting the leadership career path of IEEE members, and fostering active knowledge transfer between the academic and practicing communities.
The lecture continued by exploring the digital transformation in the contexts of digital strategy, digital architecture, and its innovative business model, which inevitably drive global business into ecosystem-based collaborative business (Warner & Wäger 2019) with its platform-based value chain (Jacobides, Cennamo, Gawer 2018) and virtually-connected strategic collaborative network (Graça & Camarinha-Matos 2016). After discussing the methods in architecting business ecosystems, the lecture shifted to business ecosystem as paradigm shift (Cha 2020). I figured that it means that business ecosystems are considered as another inevitability in a more complex business environment — even for non-digital business.
Ecosystem players — i.e. business entities related to the ecosystems — may have different needs, goals, positions, and abilities. When interactions occur, members analyse, adapt, and form an evolutionary process. Adaptabilities within a business ecosystem shows that a business ecosystem is a system that has the characteristics of a complex adaptive system (CAS).
Adaptability in CAS occurs both to environmental changes and to changes in relation among players in the system (Arthur et al. 1997). Simultaneous and continuous adaptability among players in CAS will result in co-evolution (Gomes & Gubareva 2020). This co-evolution also allows changing roles in the business ecosystem. The result of this collective activity is adaptability that creates new things (emergence) with dynamic congruence.
But this is not a deep exploration on ecosystem business and CAS. Instead, this talk aims to provide some insights on the aspects of complexity, where CAS and ecosystem business are only some examples of its parts. I then restarted with a storytelling of the exploration of complexities, starting from Murray Gell-Mann, his book The Quark and The Jaguar, and the establishment of Santa Fe Institute.
The scientific method is the portmanteau of instruments, formalisms, and experimental practices that succeed in discovering basic mechanisms despite the limitations of individual intelligence. There are, however, on this planet, phenomena that are hidden in plain sight. These are the phenomena that we study as complex systems: the convoluted exhibitions of the adaptive world — from cells to societies. Examples of these complex systems include cities, economies, civilizations, the nervous system, the Internet, and ecosystems.
The nature of complexity would include the phenomena of non-linearity, dynamic interactions, adaptation, self-organisation, evolution, and emergence.
Its consequences in economy and business, is that economy is analysed not necessarily in equilibrium, its decision makers (or agents) are not superrational, the problems they face are not necessarily well-defined, and the economy is not as a perfectly humming machine but as an ever-changing ecology of beliefs, organising principles, and behaviours (Arthur 2021).
We continued from WB Arthur (2021): Complexity economics assumes that agents differ, that they have imperfect information about other agents and must, therefore, try to make sense of the situation they face. Agents explore, react and constantly change their actions and strategies in response to the outcome they mutually create. The resulting outcome may not be in equilibrium and may display patterns and emergent phenomena not visible to equilibrium analysis. The economy becomes something not given and existing but constantly forming from a developing set of actions, strategies and beliefs — something not mechanistic, static, timeless and perfect but organic, always creating itself, alive and full of messy vitality.
So my main message is that a competitive business should not avoid or overcome complexities. Instead, complexities are used or even created as a way to open new opportunities, design new capabilities, and conquering new markets.
For its implication in strategic management, I offer a view from the IEEE to use — in this era — a framework called strategic planning for exponential era (SPX). I explored this framework quite deeply. It is taken from an IEEE book authored by Espindola and Wright (2021), titled The Exponential Era: Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Curve in an Era of Chaotic Changes and Disruptive Forces.
My presentation was followed with a warm discussion with Binus’ lecturers and students on some technological and business aspects of complexity, complex adaptive system, and ecosystem-based business, including its current implementation in Telkom Indonesia. I also offered to continue the discussion using a collaborative framework of IEEE TEMS.
Arthur WB (2021) wrote a paper comparing conventional vs complexity economics.
Conventional neoclassical economics assumes:
Perfect rationality. It assumes agents each solve a well-defined problem using perfectly rational logic to optimize their behaviour.
Representative agents. It assumes, typically, that agents are the same as each other — they are ‘representative’ — and fall into one or a small number (or distribution) of representative types.
Common knowledge. It assumes all agents have exact knowledge of these agent types, that other agents are perfectly rational and that they too share this common knowledge.
Equilibrium. It assumes that the aggregate outcome is consistent with agent behaviour — it gives no incentive for agents to change their actions.
But over the past 120 years, economists such as Thorstein Veblen, Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich Hayek, Joan Robinson, etc have objected to the equilibrium framework, each for their own reasons. All have thought a different economics was needed.
It was with this background in 1987 that the Santa Fe Institute convened a conference to bring together ten economic theorists and ten physical theorists to explore the economy as an evolving complex system.
Complexity economics sees the economy as not necessarily in equilibrium, its decision makers (or agents) as not superrational, the problems they face as not necessarily well-defined and the economy not as a perfectly humming machine but as an ever-changing ecology of beliefs, organizing principles and behaviours.
Complexity economics assumes that agents differ, that they have imperfect information about other agents and must, therefore, try to make sense of the situation they face. Agents explore, react and constantly change their actions and strategies in response to the outcome they mutually create. The resulting outcome may not be in equilibrium and may display patterns and emergent phenomena not visible to equilibrium analysis. The economy becomes something not given and existing but constantly forming from a developing set of actions, strategies and beliefs — something not mechanistic, static, timeless and perfect but organic, always creating itself, alive and full of messy vitality.
Difference between Neoclassical and Complexity Economics
In a complex system, the actions taken by a player are channelled via a network of connections. Within the economy, networks arise in many ways, such as trading, information transmission, social influence or lending and borrowing. Several aspects of networks are interesting: how their structure of interaction or topology makes a difference; how markets self-organize within them; how risk is transmitted; how events propagate; how they influence power structures.
The topology of a network matters as to whether connectedness enhances its stability or not. Its density of connections matters, too. When a transmissible event happens somewhere in a sparsely connected network, the change will fairly soon die out for lack of onward transmission; if it happens in a densely connected network, the event will spread and continue to spread for long periods. So, if a network were to slowly increase in its degree of connection, the system will go from few, if any, consequences to many, even to consequences that do not die out. It will undergo a phase change. This property is a familiar hallmark of complexity.
Happy Fountain Pen Day! Fountain Pen Day is celebrated on the first Friday of November. But what is so interesting with this classical instrument?
The history of fountain pen must start with the long development of writing instruments, including quill and qalam. But the modern fountain pen we know today was first patented in 1827 by Petrache Poenaru, a Romanian inventor. However, it wasn’t until the 1850s that fountain pens became popular, thanks to the innovations made by Lewis Waterman. Waterman developed a system that used capillary action to control the ink flow, which prevented leaks and made writing smoother and more consistent. He also created a reservoir system that allowed the pen to hold more ink and made refilling easier. These innovations helped fountain pens become more reliable and convenient than earlier models.
The popularity of fountain pens continued to grow throughout the 20th century, as new designs and materials were introduced. In the 1920s, the first ballpoint pen was developed, which threatened to replace fountain pens as the preferred writing instrument. And the digital era have virtually erased the necessity of fountain pens from our society. Today, fountain pens are only used as a symbol of sophistication and elegance. They are often used for signatures, calligraphy, handwriting, and personal expression.
I started using fountain pen when I was an SMP student. I was a quite diligent student and writer, so I wrote too much. Instead of having to buy too many ballpoints, I chose to use my father’s unused Ero fountain pen, and just fill it with ink from a big bottle of Parker’s Quink at my father’s desk. My brother also influenced me to buy an Ero “two in one” pen — a single instrument with a fountain pen nib and a ballpoint. Needless to say, my memory of my SMP time involved continuously colourful hand, spilt by the blue, red, purple ink.
After digital era, I just use fountain pens occasionally. Buying ink was also weird, when almost all communications are established using computers and mobile devices. Just somehow I tend to get interested in using manual or semi-manual technology. And that’s the reason I still use fountain pens, albeit occasionally.
Despite the convenience and ubiquity of digital devices, many people still prefer using fountain pens for a variety of reasons:
Writing Experience — Many fountain pen enthusiasts appreciate the smooth and effortless writing experience that fountain pens provide. The flow of ink from a fountain pen’s nib can make writing feel more tactile and enjoyable, and can help to reduce hand fatigue during long writing sessions.
Personalisation — Fountain pens are often highly customisable, with different nib sizes, ink colours, and styles of pen bodies and caps available. This allows users to create a writing instrument that reflects their individual tastes and preferences.
Sustainability — Fountain pens are often viewed as more sustainable than disposable ballpoint pens, since they can be refilled with ink and used for years or even decades with proper maintenance. This can help to reduce waste and save money in the long run.
History and Tradition — Fountain pens have a long and storied history, dating back to the 19th century. For many people, using a fountain pen can feel like a connection to that history and to the writers and thinkers who have used fountain pens to create some of the world’s most influential works.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, besides creating and doing important things for the nation (trust me, haha), I also spend more time to maintain, use, and add the collection of my fountain pen. Please visit my fountain pens collection here: https://pen.dance; and let’s dance with my pens.
Since 2016 I have a new role in Telkom Indonesia as the AVP (now Project Leader) of the Industry Synergy. The role of Synergy Department is simply developing the capabilities (mainly digital capabilities) and expanding opportunities of Telkom Group by maximising the collaboration with the industry. As a government policy at that time, the collaborations are prioritised with the state-owned companies (BUMN) in Indonesia. More than three years have passed then. We have changed the Ministry of BUMN, Telkom’s CEO, Telkom’s BOD in charge of Synergy programs, SVP and VP of Synergy, etc. But we are still developing our paradigm of digital synergy, i.e. developing digitally supported economic ecosystems in different sectors.
Using a metaphor from the environment, an innovation ecosystems consists of interdependent parties with different or often competing objectives and concerns, living and growing together in a common digital space, unified using one platform or more to enable them to live better and grow faster. Co-creation, collaboration, and competition are some key activities of the innovation ecosystems.
Last year, the new Minister of BUMN has addressed Telkom Indonesia to develop five ecosystems: Tourism, Agriculture, Logistics, Education, and Healthcare. We even hired a prominent global consultant to help us design the ecosystem. But this February, I requested an approval from the uplinks to add another ecosystem: the MSME ecosystem, to support non-digital micro, small, and medium business enterprises in digital way.
Previously we have had a program called RKB to develop the capability of SMEs in Indonesia. RKBs (BUMN’s creative house) have been established in 245 of 514 cities and regencies in Indonesia. In RKB, BUMNs provide training, consulting, and other facilities to leverage the capabilities of the SMEs in three product categories: culinary, craft, and fashion. But RKBs have failed to attract the SMEs since they do not really improve the sales of the SME products. An MSME ecosystem, on the contrary, should start with MSME commercialisation in mind.
We started with a small design by utilising a multichannel marketing application called SAKOO as our first platform. In March, many cities and locations in Indonesia (and other part of the world) are locked down (until the time I’m writing this post, btw) due to COVID-19 pandemic. We found some contexts for the usecase of the platform. To generate market, we will use BUMNs (and public, using campaigns supported by BUMNs) to create demands for the MSME market. BUMNs may buy the products of the MSMEs for their need, or as an aid to support the communities or health facilities in. Surely we first tried it with Telkom. Telkom has started purchasing MSMEs products using this platform, and has also sent support to communities in Depok.
The Minister of BUMN has a new expert staff: Ms Loto S Ginting — a smart lady working previously as a Director in the Ministry of Finance, managing sovereign bond. Now she advises the Minister of BUMN in the issues of Finance and MSME development. Our BUMN Law (UU 19/2003) mentions indeed that the strategic roles of the BUMNs include providing services for public, counterweight for private business, and support to develop small business and co-operatives. We approached her to discuss this first stage of MSME Ecosystem development program. She enthusiastically accepted the program. In addition, she improve the plan to add B2B transaction facility to the first stage of the program. The transaction data from B2B and B2C are further combined with data taken from e-Procurement systems of the BUMNs to make a dashboard to ensure the increase absorption of MSMEs products and services by the BUMNs. She calls this program PADI UMKM, stands for Pasar Digital UMKM / MSME Digital Market.
Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought the nation into an economic crisis. To survive, MSMEs and their employees need the public involvement. The Minister addressed to rush the MSME platform development. We work with our startup partners: Anchanto, Tees, Payfast, etc to enrich PADI UMKM platform with wider multichannel, logistics management, B2B capability, financing facility, etc. We need to finish it next month (June), so we can start the transaction on July. Eight BUMNs have been selected for pilot project. A new PMO has been assigned to finish this project.
It still felt like a miracle that everything was only in ideation last February, and all activities are carried out during lockdown periods, with all meetings held using vicon, and coordination using whatsapp. Let’s hope we can finish it on June, to support more prosperous small business in Indonesia in long term, or at least, for now, just to have them survive these crises..
Just a couple weeks ago, I’ve got an invitation from IEEE Region 10 Director-Elect, Prof Kukjin Chun. He will be the Director of IEEE Region 10 in 2017–2018; and he invited me to be a member of the Executive Committee (Excom), as the Industry Relations Coordinator.
This morning I got an Excel file from the Region 10, containing the list of the Region 10 Excom next year (starting 01 January 2017).
The IEEE Region 10 covers Asia–Pacific area. It covers a geographical area stretching from South Korea and Japan in the north-east to New Zealand in the south, and Pakistan in the west. It comprises of 57 Sections, 6 Councils, 17 Sub-sections, 515 Chapters, 60 Affinity Groups and 958 Student Branches. With a membership of 107,154 (about 25% of total IEEE membership), it is one of the largest regions in IEEE.
My predecessor on this position is Ms Pamela Kumar, the IEEE Region 10 Industry Relations Coordinator for 2015–2016.
Checking the IEEE Region 10 site, here’s the objective of Industry Relation activities:
Promoting IEEE activities within industries.
Engaging industries and practitioners in IEEE activities
Creating a platform for practitioners to network and benefit from being IEEE members
Creating benefits for academia-industry partnership to achieve innovations.
Recruiting more members from industry.
The responsibilities include:
Liaison with business and industry associations to facilitate collaborative applied research and development.
Providing assistance to academic research communities in transferring technologies to industry.
Providing services and holding activities for IEEE members and industrial employees to share knowledge and establish mutually beneficial relationship.
The activities, among others:
Creating a platform for Industry–Academia engagement during flagship IEEE R10 events – TENCON, TENSYMP, SYW and HTC conferences
Promoting programs to have practitioner oriented hands-on workshops (like MGA Metro Area Workshops)
Engaging and working together with local industrial bodies to promote interests of IEEE
Organising webinars on latest topics of interest to IEEE Industry members
Earmark and celebrate “Industry Day” during the month of November every year to have a platform to celebrate association with local industries.
Surely I will need supports from all of you: the academician & business people with concerns to technology development to enhance the quality of life. Please contact me for supports & feedbacks.
The 2016 IEEE Region 10 Annual Symposium (TENSYMP 2016) has been carried out in Sanur Paradise Plaza, Bali Island, Indonesia, in 9–11 May 2016. TENSYMP is the second flagship conference belongs to the IEEE Region 10. But TENSYMP is relatively new: this event was only the fourth TENSYMP. The aim is to serve IEEE contribution to the development, progress and welfare of countries in the Asia-Pacific region by disseminating technological knowledge and experience.
There were almost 213 papers submitted to the conference this year, of which only 96 papers were accepted, and 72 were presented in this conference. So, acceptance rate was 45%, and attendance rate was 75%. The conference was opened by IEEE Region 10 Director, Ramakrishna Kappagantu, accompanied among others by:
Satriyo Dharmanto, IEEE Indonesia Section Chair
Dr. Ford Lumban Gaol, IEEE TENSYMP 2016 General Co-Chair
Kuncoro Wastuwibowo, IEEE TENSYMP 2016 General Co-Chair
Prof. Gamantyo Hendrantoro, IEEE TENSYMP 2016 TPC Chair
Dr. Basuki Yusuf Iskandar, Head of Research & HR Development of the Indonesian Ministry of ICT
The topics for TENSYMP 2016 were selected by considering the position of Asia Pacific area as de facto centre for the ICT research, development, and industry. Digital devices, services and applications proliferate in unprecedented growth; but only a small number will become success stories. The others, despite their idealistic technical plan, will succumb the poor access to technology, market, community, or investment. It is the duty of the IEEE Region 10 as a community to arrange a coherence among those technologies, infrastructures, and business opportunities, to accelerate our common growth toward a digital society. Other big challenges are to develop and deploy our technology in meaningful ways – in real applications to enhance the value of human life. This is the expectation to choose the topic of TENSYMP 2016: Smart Computing, Communications, and Informatics of the Future. While we carry out deeper researches on those smart services and platforms; we keep in mind that our works are to enhance the quality of life.
On the Opening Speech, IEEE Region 10 Director Ramakrishna Kappagantu mentioned that with TENSYMP, IEEE Region 10 aims:
To provide a prestigious international forum for specialist presentations and interactions in one or more areas of Electrical, Electronics, Computer and Information technology through papers, exhibitions, plenary talk, tutorials, and other activities;
To contribute to the development, progress and welfare of countries in the Asia-Pacific region by disseminating technological knowledge and experience.
To encourage the study and discussion of technology and technological applications in a broad social, political and human context;
To polish and boost the interpersonal and professional skills of volunteers with the guidance of leaders and the renowned personalities in the respective field of Engineering & Technology.
The conference presented five prominent keynote speakers:
Prof. Kukjin Chun: Microelectromechanical Systems Technology Development.
Prof. Benjamin Wah: Consistent Synchronization Of Action Order with Least Noticeable Delays Ini MultiPlayer Online Games
Prof. Rod van Meter: Analyzing Applications for Quantum Repeater Network
Prof. Soegijarjo Soegidjoko, Biomedical Engineering Advances for a Better Life in Developed & Developing Countries
Dr. Basuki Yusuf Iskandar
The conference also presented 7 tutorial sessions, presenting tutorial speakers from spreading countries in Asia Pacific Region.
There was a Gala Dinner session on the first night of the conference, attended by all participants of the conference, and also by Prof Kukjin Chun as the Director-Elect of IEEE Region 10.
Other programs related to IEEE TENSYMP 2016 were, among others:
IEEE Region 10 Young Professional Gathering
IEEE Region 10 Women in Engineering Sharing Session
IEEE Region 10 Education Activities Sharing Session
