23 December 2025 – Tsinghua SEA, Bali
Denpasar, Bali – Friday, 12 December 2025 marked the official launching of the third cohort of Happy Digital X: Cities, Systems, Products, and Services, at the Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center (Tsinghua SEA) in Bali. Happy Digital X (HDX) is a premier professional education program, spearheaded by the Tsinghua Southeast Asia Center and the Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, aimed at developing leaders in digital transformation, AI, systems leadership, and complex problem solving within the urban context. Incorporating a hands-on challenge project relevant to addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, previous HDX achievements include contributing to the reduction of poverty and stunting in Sumedang Regency in 2021, and the integration of public services through the Bali Satu Data platform in 2023. The 2025 cohort consists of 22 leaders from Indonesia, Malaysia, Switzerland, and China from public, private, civil society, and academic sectors, each bringing a unique perspective and set of skills to the program.
The opening ceremony featured remarks from distinguished guests, such as Prof. Liu Bibo, Assistant Dean and Associate Professor, PBC School of Finance at Tsinghua University and Director of Tsinghua SEA, who highlighted the role of Tsinghua SEA in Tsinghua University’s global strategy and discussed the importance of Happy Digital X in developing transformative leaders, contributing to the large network of professionals connected to Tsinghua University in the region.
Followed by Prof. Edward Crawley, Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT and Senior Advisor to Tsinghua SEA, who, as one of the HDX pioneers, framed the motivations for Happy Digital X by underscoring the importance of cities and the ever evolving urban technology that supports them. Finally, Prof. Ouyang Zhang, Dean of the Tsinghua Shenzhen Graduate School, encouraged students to stay curious during their learning journey, while collaborating boldly and acting with purpose.
After opening remarks by the program’s leaders, participants were welcomed with a keynote address from Dr. Alfonso Vegara, Founder and President of Fundación Metrópoli, who outlined a vision for future cities and the challenges of designing them. He stressed that sustainability is impossible without innovation and highlighted the critical role of artificial intelligence in areas such as urban mobility, energy, safety, and environmental and societal management. Using Jakarta as an example, he framed water as a key stakeholder in the city and called for a new “dialogue with the water” to address flooding challenges. Despite facing challenges, he asserted that “Jakarta is not the problem; Jakarta is the solution,” with the potential to become a global center of excellence as the world’s most innovative waterfront. He concluded by emphasizing the role of higher education and programs like HDX in advancing city visions that integrate environmental, social, and economic dimensions.
The program was further strengthened by a special address from H.E. Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, Chairman of the National Economic Council of the Republic of Indonesia and Honorary Professor of Tsinghua University, underscoring the essential role of government support in advancing initiatives such as HDX. He highlighted the strong and mutually beneficial partnership between Indonesia and China—anchored in trust, respect, and a shared commitment to progress—through platforms including Tsinghua SEA. He emphasized that this cooperation extends beyond infrastructure to strategic scientific collaboration, citing the 3rd Bali Workshop on Music and Brain (9–11 January 2026 at Tsinghua SEA), which will convene leading global experts to explore the relationship between music and the mind. Reflecting on the achievements of Happy Digital X, he reaffirmed the government’s full support for the program and welcomed the new cohort, encouraging them to “let this program be a catalyst for building smarter, happier, and more sustainable cities for Indonesia.”
Inside the Onsite Learning Experience
The launching of HDX featured three days of intensive learning, lectures, and team building from a distinguished global faculty including Prof. Shobi Lawalata (United In Diversity Foundation), Prof. Carlos Faerron (Planetary Health Alliance), Dr. Joe Hsueh (Omplexity), Pedro Faria (TrackOnPerformance), Prof. Song Sen (Tsinghua University), and Prof. Mats Hanson (United In Diversity Foundation and KTH Sweden).
On the first day, 12 December 2025, participants were introduced to the first of six HDX learning threads, Systems Change for Happiness and Sustainability, which laid the conceptual foundation for the entire program and was led by Prof. Shobi Lawalata. The day began with a reflective exercise in which participants were invited to articulate their personal intentions and goals for joining HDX, setting a purposeful tone for the learning journey ahead. This opening reflection encouraged participants to ground the systems-based discussions in self-awareness. Furthermore, Prof. Lawalata guided the participants in exploring how complex systems influence individual and collective well-being, and why systemic, rather than isolated, interventions are essential to achieving sustainable and inclusive happiness. Prof. Lawalata emphasized the importance of deep self-reflection, highlighting that effective intervention within a system is closely tied to the awareness, values, and condition of the intervenor. Participants were encouraged to view happiness not as a fixed outcome, but as a co-created process shaped by interactions among multiple stakeholders. The session equipped participants with shared frameworks and a common language to understand how purposeful collaboration can generate long-term societal impact.
participants brainstroming
On the second day, Prof. Mats Hanson introduced the Challenge Project Work, a core component of HDX that places participants in multidisciplinary teams to address real-world challenges presented by external stakeholders. For this year’s Challenge Projects, HDX partnered with Astungkara Way, who is leading Bali’s largest rice paddy ecosystem restoration through regenerative farming with the local communities, as well as Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) of Malaysia. Prof. Hanson carefully formed diverse groups to ensure a balance of expertise, enabling participants to contribute meaningfully throughout the process. Representing Astungkara Way, Tanguy Yu, Co-Founder, General Manager, and CFO, presented the organization’s key challenges in advancing large-scale ecosystem restoration, while UPSI, represented by Dr. Hamidah Idris, Coordinator of the Academic Talent Development Unit, shared its challenge of synchronizing multiple digital academic systems to improve information dissemination for students and enhance the teaching and learning process for educators.
On the final day, the program opened with a plenary session by Prof. Song Sen of Tsinghua University, who shared insights on the evolution of artificial intelligence and its implications for the future of a sustainable planet, setting a reflective and forward-looking tone for the day. This was followed by a session from Pedro Faria, CEO of TrackOnPerformance, who introduced the technical dimension of HDX through the learning thread, ICT Awareness and Competence. He outlined the participants’ learning journey across the program, highlighting the range of information and communication technologies, machine learning models, and artificial intelligence applications they would explore. The day concluded with focused brainstorming and in-depth group discussions of the Challenge Project Work, where participants refined their project plans under the guidance of Prof. Mats Hanson, translating conceptual learning into actionable strategies.
The onsite sessions marked a strong beginning to the HDX learning journey and set the tone for the program’s continued progression. The momentum built during these days is expected to carry forward into the upcoming online modules, where participants will continue to deepen their learning and collaboration. The cohort will reconvene in Bali in January 2026 for the next onsite engagement, before completing the remaining stages of the program online and culminating in the graduation in April in Bali.