Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas was at the KIWI Challenge launch in Jakarta this week.
The Kompetisi Ide Wirausaha Indonesia (KIWI) Challenge competition is an Education New Zealand (ENZ) initiative working in collaboration with an in-market partner, Kopi Tuli (Deaf Cafe), a deaf community in Jakarta. This partnership is aligned with ENZ’s strategic framework to nurture and encourage Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion while also showcasing Sign Language as one of New Zealand’s three official languages.
Whilst border restrictions were in place and student mobility limited throughout the pandemic, both ENZ and Kopi Tuli wanted to continue engaging with Indonesian students virtually, and the KIWI Challenge was created.
The KIWI Challenge is an annual student entrepreneurship competition where participating students from schools across Java and Kalimantan are required to provide an innovative solution or idea on a given theme.
School groups submit videos to a judging panel made up of Massey academics, ENZ and wider New Zealand Inc. staff. Submissions are then reviewed by the panel and finalists selected. Students will then be supported by a number of workshops and mentoring by academics.
This mentoring will prepare finalists for their final pitch in the following weeks. After the final pitches are reviewed, the top three groups will be awarded vouchers worth IDR 2,000,000 – 10,000,000 and offered the opportunity to take part in virtual internships provided by Massey.
To date, ENZ has engaged more than 1,200 Indonesian students through the programme and each year has showcased a New Zealand university and a particular theme. Previous university partners are Lincoln University (Agribusiness) and the University of Canterbury (Education Technology).
This year ENZ has partnered with Massey, who have chosen the inspiring theme of Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship in the Tourism Industry.
KIWI Challenge 2022 was launched in Jakarta this week by Minister of Education Chris Hipkins.
“Now entering its third year, KIWI Challenge has grown into a unique platform for New Zealand and our universities to remain connected to Indonesian students in a meaningful way. Most importantly, we have worked together to identify themes that resonate with young Indonesians and then matched these with the expertise our New Zealand universities have to offer,” Minister Hipkins said.
“This year has seen another shift in topic, with student groups focusing on Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship under the expert guidance of academics from Massey University. With the current challenges facing societies across the globe as a result of climate change, I’m looking forward to the ideas Indonesian students will develop this year in such a meaningful area.”
Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas was also present at the launch event in Jakarta.
“We are honoured to be part of the 2022 KIWI Challenge, and to have the opportunity to inspire Indonesian students to tackle an issue of utmost importance to their homeland - tourism. Massey has many links to Indonesia, particularly through our research partnerships with the University of Mataram. It’s exciting to again be able to showcase our world-class teaching and research on foreign shores. Best of luck to all of the teams taking part in the KIWI Challenge this year.”
This year’s KIWI Challenge looks to build on the success of previous years and inspire youth to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities around certain social issues, connect students from Indonesia with New Zealand academics and strengthen ties between Indonesia and New Zealand.