Narrowing the Skills Gap: Tokopedia’s Commitment to Empowering Women in Education
Indonesia has the world’s highest employment skills gap, which may result in a lack of qualified workers in key industries, leaving unskilled workers struggling to advance their careers. As a technology company, Tokopedia has an opportunity to tackle this issue by providing educational programs through Tokopedia Academy, a learning ground for digital talents.
Recently, in celebration of International Women’s Day and in collaboration with Generation Educators (GenEd), an Indonesian social enterprise providing education-based solutions focusing on empowering educators, Tokopedia Academy hosted a Design Thinking workshop titled “Digital Educators of Women in Indonesia (DEWI)” to 50 female educators.
Let’s read more about the event below!
Digital Educators of Women in Indonesia (DEWI)
Educators play a critical role in shaping the learning experience of students of all ages. By empowering educators with the relevant knowledge and tools, we introduce them to new teaching methods to better develop students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills, subsequently bridging the skills gap in Indonesia. By connecting educators with industry professionals, we hope to equip students with the necessary skills to succeed and thrive in the current workforce — and that of the future.
The goal of the DEWI is to educate teachers on how to use Design Thinking in their classrooms and reinvent the way they teach for years to come. The program offered breakout sessions led by Nakama, or Tokopedia employees, who are experts in Product Management, UI/UX Design, Software Engineering, Back-End Engineering, as well as Branding and Marketing, where Design Thinking is regularly used. Participants also learned directly from a practical workshop and panel discussion with industry leaders.
Why Design Thinking?
Design thinking is a user-focused problem-solving method that prioritizes empathy, creativity, and experimentation. It involves defining the problem, brainstorming solutions, prototyping, testing, and pitching the solution. At Tokopedia, these skills are crucial for problem-solving and are practiced daily by Nakama. Through Digital Educators of Women in Indonesia (DEWI), Tokopedia Academy aims to equip educators with the knowledge to integrate critical thinking, creativity, and innovation into their teaching.
For example, our Product Manager team applies design thinking by engaging with millions of sellers on our e-commerce platform to understand their experiences and the problems they face. They empathize with the sellers, identify core problems, propose technology-enabled solutions, pitch ideas to their leaders, and conduct experiments/tests to find the best solutions.
Breakout Session & Workshop
Prior to the workshop, the educators gathered with Tokopedia experts in the fields of Product Management, UI/UX Design, Software Engineering, Back-End Engineering, as well as Branding, and Marketing, and were given time to have more detailed discussions with each of Tokopedia’s experts in smaller groups.
After gathering knowledge during the breakout session, the educators were given a workbook that outlined the design thinking process. Each group had to identify a problem, brainstorm for possible solutions, design the prototype, and pitch their ideas to their peers and the Tokopedia Academy team.
Panel Discussion
To wrap up the workshop, Tokopedia Academy and Generation Educators hosted a discussion with Kipin, an Indonesian ed-tech company that aims to democratize learning nationwide through “hybrid” ed-tech solutions. The topic was “Daring to Teach with a Different Approach,” and the speakers discussed the meaning of innovation, shared personal experiences using design thinking, and emphasized the benefits of increased collaboration between educators and industry experts. The panelists also highlighted the important role of female educators in building a strong and innovative female workforce, especially in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Tokopedia is dedicated to bridging Indonesia’s skills gap by investing in training and education for the future through Tokopedia Academy, as we believe in the significance of collaborating with other industry players and supporting educators to develop Indonesia’s digital talent.
Let’s work together to empower educators and create a more innovative and inclusive society!
Learn more about Tokopedia Academy here.
