Mike Wuerthele
Supplementing its efforts in Indonesia, Apple appears to be on the cusp of setting up a research and development center in Jakarta, with plans and locations said to be finalized before the end of 2017.
"The Industry Ministry and the Communication and Informatics Ministry are finalizing the plan," Indonesian Communication and Information Minister H.E. Rudiantara told Tempo. "By late December, they will commence the execution for the location. So, in 2017, they will start building structures and recruiting employees"
According to the minister, Apple proposed several locations in Jakarta for the center. Allegedly, Rudiantara knows how much Apple's investment in the area is worth, but declined to detail the sum.
The move on the surface appears more similar to efforts in Bengalaru, India, rather than the iOS App Development Center in Italy.
The Begalaru operation is expected to provide support and instruction in developing for Apple platforms when it opens in early 2017. While largely focused on iOS, it should also help with the Swift programming language and work on Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV apps.
In Italy, the partnership between Apple and the University of Naples allows the nine-month curriculum to be offered free to all accepted into the program. In the first wave, 4000 applied, with 200 allowed to attend. Besides just courseware, all 200 students at the iOS Developer Academy receive an iPhone, iPad and a Macbook. The program will expand to 400 students in 2017.
Rudiantara is currently the Minister of Communications and Information Technology under the Ministry of Communication and Informatics in Indonesia. He was inaugurated in October 2014 as part of the new cabinet in the Republic of Indonesia.
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3 Comments
Interesting why Apple's R&D facilities are so geographically diverse. Culturally too, surely.
Please Apple. Don't touch anything Indonesian. The regime is corrupt, lazy, mendacious, backward, and will screw you like it screws everyone. Everything will be late, broken, damaged, fake, failure-prone, or will not be produced. Lies, superstitions, black magic (I kid you not; although it is not real, many Indonesians believe it is and will try to use it. I have personal experience of it being used against an establishment in Bali, using a dead chicken, in an attempt to shut the place down). Half-truths, mendacity and corruption are at the fore-front of all dealings here. This is a country that is not ready for the 21st century. Most of the inhabitants are Muslim, and have been told that the Qu'ran is the only book they will ever need. Cultural backwardness, nepotism etc etc. I paint a bleak picture of Indonesia, but no self-respecting company should consider setting up shop here. Indeed many are leaving. Harley-Davidson, Ford, Nissan, to name but 3 automotive companies. And the workforce... if you want one that goes to pray five times a day; takes Muslim holidays, plus Christian holidays, plus Hindu holidays, plus Buddhist holidays. Then there are qualifications, or rather lack thereof: perhaps daddy bought his kid a degree at an Indonesian university as is common. Then again, the universities themselves are not exactly top-notch. Is the picture dismal enough, or will Apple decide to throw away money. After all if Trump is POTUS, maybe a new headquarters is needed. But not Indonesia.
Try Philippines, English speaking ang highly educated population. Just my thoughts.