Sinar Mas Land and UD IMPACT Launch AI Entrepreneurship Academy in BSD City
BSD City, VIVA – The e-Conomy SEA 2025 report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company notes Indonesia as the country with the highest AI adoption rate in Southeast Asia, alongside Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Malaysia in the AI transformation leap, thanks to a rapidly developing ecosystem. However, AWS and Strand Partners’ research shows that AI utilisation in Indonesia is still dominated by basic automation at about 90 percent. This underscores the importance of strengthening AI-based talent and entrepreneurship ecosystems to boost Indonesia’s competitiveness in the digital era.
In response to the challenge of strengthening talent and the AI-based entrepreneurship ecosystem in Indonesia, Sinar Mas Land and UD IMPACT have officially entered into a strategic collaboration to present the AI Entrepreneurship Academy in BSD City. The MoU signing was performed by Irawan Harahap (CEO Digital Tech Ecosystem and Development, Sinar Mas Land) and Dion Park (Director of Indonesia, UD IMPACT Inc.) on 19 May 2026 at the Biomedical Campus, BSD City. This collaboration signals a joint commitment to making BSD City not only a world-class residential and business district but also a hub for AI-based entrepreneurship and for cultivating digital talent in Indonesia.
Irawan Harahap, CEO Digital Tech Ecosystem and Development at Sinar Mas Land, stated: ‘BSD City has evolved into an area where educational institutions, the business community, and the digital ecosystem meet in one integrated environment. The collaboration with UD IMPACT also enriches our new initiatives, namely mBrace (Make BSD Research and AI Centre of Excellence), a centre for AI research and development intended to propel BSD City not only as a place to study and work but also as a birthplace for AI-based innovation and young entrepreneurs. The presence of this programme is a concrete step to prove that BSD City’s university ecosystem possesses the readiness, talent, and infrastructure capable of delivering technological solutions that are relevant and have a real impact on society.’
Through the MoU signing, both parties officially commence collaboration in the AI Entrepreneurship Academy programme, starting with the BSD City AI Hackathon in Q3 2026. The inaugural programme will involve students from several prestigious universities in the BSD City area, such as Prasetiya Mulya University, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, and Monash University Indonesia.