Depok-The Master of Applied Creative Industries study program of Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI), held a guest lecture entitled “The Role of Government in Building a City Creative Ecosystem” with Dr. Dadang Wihana, M.Si., Head of the Depok City Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda). Held in the Master of Applied Creative Industries Room on October 6, 2025, the guest lecture was part of the Collaborative Creative Development course.
In his presentation, Dadang explained the government’s crucial role in creating a collaborative climate for developing the creative economy at the regional level. He highlighted the importance of cross-stakeholder collaboration involving government, academia, the business world, creative communities, and the media to create sustainable creative cities. “Local governments cannot work alone. Creative ecosystems must be built together through collaborative governance so that each party can contribute according to their capacity. That’s what we’re implementing in Depok through the Smart City and Creative City concepts,” Dadang said.
Dadang said that Depok City is currently developing several smart governance and creative city-based initiatives, such as the Depok Single Window (DSW), which integrates 145 public services into one digital portal, and Depok Open Space, a multifunctional public space that supports creative community activities and MSMEs. Furthermore, there is the Smart Culture program, a collaboration between the Depok City Development Planning Boady (Bappeda) and various educational institutions to integrate the values of art, culture, and creativity into the curriculum. This program includes the development of application-based learning media, animation, games, and robotics, aimed at fostering a creative generation from an early age.
(Photo: Group photo with students after the guest lecture ended)
The Head of the Creative Industries Applied Master’s Program, Dr. Dewi Kartika Sari, S.E., M.S.Ak., CA., explained that this guest lecture is integrated with the learning outcomes of the Collaborative Creative Development course. Ika said, “Through this guest lecture, students not only understand the theory of collaboration, but also learn directly from the real practices of local governments in building creative ecosystems. We want students to hone their creativity effectively and master collaborative skills to produce impactful work.”
The guest lecture was interactive, with discussions taking place. Students demonstrated high enthusiasm, particularly regarding the potential for synergy between education and local governments in developing the creative economy. One student, Alya Sabrina, shared her impressions after attending the guest lecture. “Mr. Dadang’s presentation really opened our eyes to the government’s role as a facilitator of the creative economy. We now understand more clearly that creativity requires the support of policies, infrastructure, and cross-sector collaboration,” she said.
This guest lecture demonstrates UI Vocational continued efforts to provide collaborative and hands-on learning. Furthermore, this activity is also relevant to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) through the development of new entrepreneurs and improving the competency of creative economy actors, and SDG 17 (Partnerships for Goals), through collaboration between the government, universities, businesses, and communities to strengthen regional creative ecosystems.
