Women at the Forefront of AI Transformation: The Story of Three Indonesian Changemakers
Read in Indonesian here
Change is happening all around us – fast, real, and inevitable. One of the biggest drivers of this change is AI, which is accelerating innovation and opening up new opportunities in every aspect of life, from how we work, study, and navigate our daily lives. However, as Microsoft embraces the spirit of its 50th anniversary in April, “change needs makers“. Change does not happen on its own – it is created by those who dare to learn, innovate, adapt, and push boundaries.
History shows that the best innovations come from diverse perspectives. Closed captions, for instance, were originally designed for those with hearing impairments but have since proven useful for anyone – from people in noisy environments to language learners worldwide.
Among these diverse perspectives are those of women, and yet, they remain significantly underrepresented in STEM fields, particularly AI. According to the American Association of University Women, only 28% of the global STEM workforce are women, with an even lower percentage in AI and computer engineering roles. In Indonesia, only 12% of STEM graduates are women. Without equal representation in shaping technology, we risk missing out on groundbreaking ideas and perspectives that could drive more inclusive innovation.
To address this, Microsoft and the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi), along with 18 partners, launched elevAIte Indonesia, an initiative dedicated to equipping 1 million Indonesian talents with AI skills inclusively.
“AI technology not only opens up new opportunities, but also changes the way we work and innovate. However, the benefits of AI can only be fully felt if more people have the right skills to use it. The elevAIte Indonesia program is designed to ensure that all changemakers, regardless of their background, have access to AI skills that they can use to create solutions, increase productivity, and bring real change to their communities,” explained Arief Suseno, AI National Skills Director, Microsoft Indonesia.
Among these changemakers, three women – Dewi, Diana, and Nura – prove that AI is not just for those with a tech background, but also for anyone who wants to learn, adapt, and create real change. As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, their inspiring stories highlight that women play an important role in driving innovation and shaping Indonesia’s digital future.
Dewi Sartika Salam – AI for Service Improvement in the Public Sector
Makassar | Employee of the Technical Implementation Unit at BBPMP South Sulawesi
As an employee at the South Sulawesi Education Quality Assurance Center (BBPMP), Dewi Sartika Salam plays a key role in processing and interpreting education data to support policy recommendations with far-reaching impact. Armed with a background in statistics, she is used to processing quantitative and qualitative data to identify trends, evaluate policies, and understand educational needs in her region, but has never used AI as a tool to analyze large-scale education data.
Encouraged by the Head of BBPMP South Sulawesi, Imran S.Kom, M.T., Dewi and her colleagues participated in the elevAIte Indonesia program, especially in the training session entitled “Capacity Building for South Sulawesi BBPMP Employees with Microsoft AI Technology” which was introduced through one of elevAIte’s program partners, namely Biji-Biji Initiative.
“At first I just wanted to learn because AI was trending, but after taking the training, I realized that this technology is more than just an interactive chatbot – it is a tool that could really help us work. We were given training on how to use AI, such as prompting and creating scopes of work,” explained Dewi.
Through this training, Dewi was introduced to Microsoft Copilot, which expanded her analytical capacity, including filtering and understanding interesting patterns from data at greater speed. However, Dewi’s expertise remains essential – her judgment ensures the insights and indicators generated are relevant to the conditions and challenges of education in the field, to produce more targeted recommendations.
In addition to strengthening her own role, Dewi also sees the great potential of AI in empowering educators and other civil servants, and has a high enthusiasm to disseminate AI knowledge to fellow educators in education units, especially at the elementary and secondary levels so that it can be used to review school education report cards, understand school needs, support learning and school administration, and design strategies to improve the quality of data-based learning – all complex processes simplified with AI. In addition, Dewi also helps the local homemaker community to innovate and think critically with AI, which can then be implemented in daily activities, including solving their children’s math problems faster.
“I am happy to be able to introduce AI to more people through knowledge sharing, especially those who initially found this technology difficult. Once they see the benefits, they become more open to learning. More people can synergize to realize the benefits,” continued Dewi.
Dewi believes that AI has great potential in improving service quality and supporting digital transformation in the education and government sectors.
“AI is not only about accelerating workflows but also opening up new ways of thinking and innovating. I hope that more civil servants and educators can use this inclusive technology responsibly. We must continue to adapt to the times and must not be closed-minded,” concluded Dewi.
Diana Putri – AI for Parenting & Exploring Business
Sintang, West Kalimantan | Homemaker
After completing her Master’s Degree in Accounting, Diana Putri decided to focus on her family. Amidst her busy schedule, her enthusiasm to keep learning never faded. She wanted to continue developing herself, gain new insights, and reignite her sense of purpose and spirit as a busy mother of two.
Through a friend, she discovered Perempuan Pandai AI (PandAI), a program run by NUCare Global by LAZISNU, one of elevAIte Indonesia’s program partners which focuses on introducing AI to women of various ages and backgrounds – from students, migrant workers, elderly women, homemakers, to entrepreneurs – helping them use AI in their daily lives.
Diana initially joined the program out of curiosity, but over time, she realized that AI is not just a futuristic technology—but a tool that can help in various aspects of her life, from parenting to business exploration.
“I initially joined because I wanted to experience something new. But after learning, I realized that AI can really help me in many ways—from parenting to exploring the business world,” Diana explained.
As a mother of two young children, Diana often faces challenges in sorting reliable parenting resources, most of which tend to be conflicting. Copilot now helps her filter and summarize parenting advise, allowing her to quickly find trusted references.
AI also helps answer her children’s curious questions like “How does it rain?” or “Why do human ears have this shape?”. With Copilot, Diana is now able to provide answers that her children can easily grasp.
“Sometimes my children ask me things that are difficult for me to explain. AI helps me give answers with analogies that are easier for them to understand,” Diana continued.
AI also helps her find creative activity ideas for her children, such as simple sensory games with ingredients found at home or cooking recipes that can be made with children.
Diana is now exploring business opportunities with the help of AI. Copilot helps her find business ideas, understand marketing strategies, and gain insights on how to build a business from scratch.
For Diana, AI is not only about technology, but about how she can manage various aspects of life more optimally and meaningfully.
“I hope more women see AI not as something difficult, but as a tool that can help us in many new things—not only in the world of work, but also in everyday life. There is nothing wrong with trying, learning is good and will definitely be useful,” Diana concluded.
Nura Uma Annisa – AI for the Future of Education
Semarang | Informatics Teacher at Nasima Elementary School
For Nura Uma Annisa, being an educator means learning as much as she teaches – a lifelong journey. Since joining Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts (MIEE) in 2012, she has sought new ways to make learning more innovative. With a background in educational technology, Nura has won various awards in the field of digital education. However, she realized that technology was constantly evolving—and AI was the next step she had to master.
When she found the elevAIte Indonesia program through Dicoding, one of the program’s partners, Nura saw this as an opportunity to understand AI as more than just a tool. Initially, she thought AI was just about typing prompts and receiving instant answers. However, after delving into the material, she began to understand how AI works like neurons in the brain—analyzing, classifying, and processing information in complex ways.
“In the past, I could only introduce AI as a concept. Now, I understand the technical matters behind the scenes or on the back-end – how to detect images, categorize objects in natural language processing (NLP), and so on, I can use it directly to create something meaningful with my students,” Nura explains.
Nura did not go through this journey alone. With the support of the school community, MIEE, and Training of Trainers (ToT) by Microsoft partners, she successfully completed her training and became one of the certified teachers in Fundamentals of AI (AI-900), a certification that introduces the basic concepts of AI as well as Microsoft Azure services that can be used to create AI-based solutions. This training, according to Nura, opens up insights into how AI can be applied in the world of education – helping teachers and students innovate with this relevant technology.
At SD Nasima, Nura not only plays the role of an informatics teacher, but also as a Digital Driving Teacher, where she actively guides other teachers in utilizing technology to improve the learning experience in the classroom, such as creating innovative teaching materials using Microsoft Designer and Copilot. One of the innovations she has also implemented is the use of Minecraft Education, a game-based learning platform that allows students to explore STEM concepts like problem-solving, and collaboration through immersive interactive experiences. With augmented reality (AR) elements embedded in it, students can bring digital objects to the real world, build simulations, and learn in a more visual and applicative way.
As a result of this creative approach, the students not only learning and using technology, but also become creators – creating AI-based learning comics, developing storyboards with Copilot, and building simple coding projects. So are the teachers at the school, one of which even received the Most Inspiring Teacher award at the national level, for using Microsoft Designer to create fairy tales from subjects.
“The future of my students is in the digital world. If they understand AI from now, they will be better prepared to face the challenges of the future. But the role of teachers is still irreplaceable because students still need guidance,” concluded Nura.
Becoming a Changemaker in the AI Era: Opportunities for Every Profession
Through AI training from the elevAIte Indonesia program, Dewi, Diana, and Nura have proven that changemakers do not have to be CEOs or technology professionals, but anyone who dares to explore AI to create an impact.
elevAIte Indonesia’s journey continues, opening up opportunities for more changemakers to leverage AI in their lives. If you want to develop your AI skills and create a real impact, you can join elevAIte Indonesia and become part of a community that drives innovation in Indonesia.
Register now at elevaite.id/education (open to educators) and elevaite.id (open to the public) and start your journey as a changemaker in the AI era.
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