Prof. Wawan is a graduate of the ITB Industrial Engineering Study Program class of 2000. After graduating from ITB, he continued his master's education at the Delft University of Technology enrolling in System Engineering, Policy Analysis, and Management major. In the year 2012 Prof. Wawan received a Doctor of Management title from Monash University.

As someone who has been studying entrepreneurship science for a long time, Prof. Wawan has produced various research in the fields of digital start-up, small business scale-up, and business innovation. Prof. Wawan's research which comprised around 160 publications has been published in scientific journals, proceedings, and even national and international released books.

In his oration, Prof. Wawan said that one of the most crucial things that we can do to improve our nation's economy is entrepreneurship. The development of an entrepreneurship ecosystem requires good relations and cooperation between sectors of entrepreneurship activities.

"When developing an entrepreneurship ecosystem, we try to build cooperation between supplier, consumer, business partner, and community in that ecosystem. It is a parable to when the soil is fertile, the seed will grow well. When there is a supportive entrepreneurship ecosystem, the entrepreneurs, the startup founders will thrive," he said.

Furthermore, Prof. Wawan said that the materialization of a good entrepreneurship ecosystem needs to be supported by some important pillars. The first pillar is entrepreneurship policy which regulates business schemes and government programs. The second pillar is access to the market that enables the performance rating of a production system by an entrepreneur. The third pillar is about the ability of an entrepreneur to create a business network within the scope of his entrepreneurship.

He continued, the fourth pillar is the human capital which is the most crucial productional input in entrepreneurial activity. Then the fifth pillar is the cultural support factor where that entrepreneurship is based on.

The sixth pillar of entrepreneurship ecosystem development is access to capital through venture capital providers. While the seventh pillar is about entrepreneurial education and training which is based on the trend to answer future entrepreneurial challenges through human capital improvement. While the last pillar is a business incubator and accelerator where entrepreneurs can apply for help according to their specific problem when developing their own business.

Prof. Wawan added, "When developing an entrepreneur ecosystem, we need to look closely into each of its pillars. In its implementation, we need to involve multiple parties in the model quadruple helix which consists of academician, business owner, company, and community."

The interaction pattern of these parties is explained on the model quadruple helix which illustrates the collaboration between parties in creating an entrepreneurship ecosystem that is ideal for economic growth.

In the model quadruple helix, every party has its own role in creating an entrepreneurship ecosystem. A company acts as a producer who is the central figure in production activities. The government as a regulator and policy maker, the academician as an evaluator and community mover, while the society acts as a stabilizer of the roles of the three other parties.

Reporter: Hanifa Juliana (District and City Planning, 2020)
Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)