Academy Case Studies

An innovative partnership between Cisco, USAID, academies, and local firms allowed students in Indonesia to apply their knowledge and skills to develop practical ICT solutions for small to medium enterprises.

The Industry Attachment Program (IAP) is an initiative developed by Cisco and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to improve the competitiveness of small manufacturing firms in Indonesia through the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICT). IAP was designed and managed by USAID’s SENADA project, which aims to promote economic development and job creation in Indonesia.

The 100 students who participated in the program excelled in their Cisco Networking Academy studies at six of the top universities in Indonesia. The students completed an IT boot camp and several workshops before starting a rigorous, five-month internship program at 85 participating firms. The students helped each firm develop an “ICT roadmap” to optimize the integration of ICT for long-term business gains.

In July 2009, 61 students completed the program and SENADA and Cisco hosted a competition to award the students who developed the best roadmaps. The students received trips to Cisco headquarters in San Jose:

• Irma Susanti of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) helped an environmentally friendly furniture company improve their inventory tracking an cost calculation capabilities by integrating a newly designed software program to enhance operational competitiveness.
• Maria Tjahyadi of Ciputra University helped a Bali-based garment company develop and implement a disaster recovery plan that will allow the firm to sustain operations in the event of a total IT collapse.
• Prihadi Yogaswara of UGM designed an integrated distribution network to help a garment company synchronize its operations and manage data across all outlet branches and stores.

Although SENADA’s support of the program is ending, three universities have committed to a second round of internships in 2010 and Cisco plans to expand the program into Malaysia, Cambodia, and Singapore.