Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia targets 15,000 engineers to learn and master chip design technology through a collaboration agreement between Danantara and Arm Limited. The agreement, signed in London on Monday (Feb 23), aims to accelerate capacity building and national independence in the development of strategic technologies, particularly in the semiconductor sector, which is a fundamental element for various innovations and digital ecosystems. “It is hoped that Indonesia can train 15,000 of our engineers within the Arm ecosystem so they can master chip design technology,” said the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday. “The collaboration will continue to develop the next generation of semiconductors or chips, so that Indonesia has capabilities in the semiconductor and design fields,” he added. Arm Limited is known to dominate the semiconductor market for the global automotive sector, particularly in chip design for data centers and artificial intelligence. The Indonesian government has allocated an initial US$150 million to build a national semiconductor ecosystem through the partnership. The strategic partnership also marks a significant step for Indonesia in transforming from a consumer of technology to a high-value-added producer in the global supply chain. The development of six national chip designs will focus on strategic intellectual property (IP) areas that Indonesia will possess. “These six are IP (intellectual property). We can choose one for automotive technology, the second for the Internet of Things, the third for data centers, and then for home appliances,” Hartarto said. “The other two can be futuristic, particularly autonomous vehicles, quantum computing, and others. All of these are still being discussed with Danantara, so Indonesia will hold the IP,” he added. Hartarto said the partnership will also focus on developing a national software capability ecosystem by working with leading universities, including ITB, UGM, and the University of Indonesia, which have been preparing to support the agenda for nearly two years. Talents will receive direct training from trainers within the Arm Limited ecosystem. Next, the development of a new generation of chips will open up greater investment opportunities, including in the manufacturing (printing) sector, which is currently dominated by several global companies. Going forward, those various global companies are also expected to invest in Indonesia as part of strengthening the national semiconductor ecosystem.