Why We Exist
The Meeting Between IBS Team with Universitas Siliwangi, Bandung, 2025
The R&D International Business School (R&D IBS) is a business and entrepreneurship training centre in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia, established by the R&D International Foundation (R&D IF) in Belgium and the Netherlands, which was awarded tax-free ANBI status.
The R&D IBS aims to provide highly intelligent, motivated, yet underprivileged students from this region with the best possible international business education. This will serve both Tasikmalaya’s society and their own fullest, particularly in international development, as entrepreneurs and employers. Elements of ethics, morality, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability will be key to the development of successful Tasik businesspersons – and to increasing regional GDP, and thus to combating the scourge of child malnutrition.
Child malnutrition especially negatively affects the capacity of young people to perform optimally throughout their working lives. In the next decade, Indonesia is expected to become one of the world’s five largest economies. Global water and food security will promote the development of Indonesia’s green, agri-rich southern coast. The IBS will help promote his development.
Why Tasikmalaya
Tasikmalaya, located in one of the less privileged regions of Indonesia, faces complex socio-economic challenges alongside promising opportunities for growth. The region records high rates of child malnutrition (27.2% in 2022) and a concerning level of elementary school dropouts, ranking third in West Java the same year.
Economic data from the Central Statistics Agency of Tasikmalaya Regency further highlights a poverty line of 347,917 rupiahs per capita per month in 2022, with approximately 194,000 people (10.73% of the population) living below this threshold. Encouragingly, these figures represent gradual improvement compared to the previous year, reflecting progress in local poverty alleviation efforts.
Labor market indicators also demonstrate a cautiously optimistic trend. According to the National Labor Force Survey, Tasikmalaya’s Labor Force Participation Rate reached 67.83% in 2022, while the Open Unemployment Rate declined to 7.12%, slightly above the national average (7.05%) but below the provincial rate of 10%. The employment landscape remains dominated by agriculture, industry, and services, yet the demographic dependency ratio of 50.09 (2021) underscores the continuing economic strain: for every working-age individual, about 50 dependents rely on their support. The predominance of young dependents highlights the urgency of targeted interventions in education, skills training, and sustainable job creation.
Image source: cakrawalamedia.co.id (2016)
https://www.cakrawalamedia.co.id/minim-peta-desa-kabupaten-tasikmalaya-rentan-konflik-perabatasan/
What We Stand For
Our core values are the foundation of everything we do, guiding our mission to empower the next generation of global business leaders, and it starts from Tasikmalaya.
Accessible Education
We believe high-quality training should be available to everyone, removing financial barriers to global success.
Tasikmalaya Focused
Our curriculum is designed with industry standards, focusing on practical skills and applied leadership.
Global
Mindset
Participants train in cross-cultural relationship-building, international market navigation, and the regulatory realities of exporting abroad.
Ethic and Sustainibility
Participants train in ethical, sustainable production practices — from fair treatment of farmers and suppliers to environmental responsibility across the supply chain.
How We Teach International Business
Our instructors are international experts — mostly from Europe — working alongside local experts based in Tasikmalaya, bringing real export experience into every session through case studies and hands-on tools.
The programme runs in a hybrid format: participants train in person at Universitas Siliwangi's campus in Tasikmalaya, joined by international experts and local specialists online or in person. All teaching is in English.
Our curriculum is centred on four areas of focus, necessary for effective, efficient, and sustainable international trades.
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
ACCESS REQUIREMENTS
PRODUCTION & LOGICTICS
REGULATORY AFFARS
Institutional Partnerships
The Rectorate Building of Universitas Siliwangi
Universitas Siliwangi (UNSIL) is a state university in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia, founded in 1978 and formally converted to a state university in 2014. It offers close to 30 study programmes across faculties, including Economics and Business, and Teacher Training and Education, and is one of the region's principal institutions of higher learning.
The MoU Signing Between IBS and UNSIL, Jakarta 2026
R&D IBS builds on a partnership with UNSIL spanning more than three decades, delivered through a series of joint programmes rather than a single initiative. These include the Edgar Brood Academic Chair (EBAC), supporting English language and IT education at UNSIL, and OTIFA (Outreach Therapeutic Infant Food Agency), a nutrition intervention programme addressing child malnutrition in the Tasikmalaya region. R&D IBS is the latest chapter in this collaboration — hosted on UNSIL's campus and drawing on the same long-standing institutional relationship that has shaped these earlier programmes.
R&D International Foundation Board Members
Prof. Mark Eyskens
Honorary Chairman, former Prime Minister of Belgium
Prof. Mark Eyskens is a Belgian economist, politician, and professor born on April 29, 1933. He served as the Prime Minister of Belgium in 1981 and held the title of Minister of State.
Mr. Rio Praaning Prawira Adiningrat
Founder and Chairman
With more than 23 years of experience as Managing Partner of PA Europe, PA Asia, and PAN Gulf, Rio D. Praaning Prawira Adiningrat has specialized in political affairs, international project management, regulatory and public policy advisory, and strategic and crisis management.
Dr. Danielle van Dalen
Vice-Chair
With decades of experience in food safety and regulatory affairs, Dr Danielle van Dalen has served as a Senior Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs Advisor and formerly as Chairperson of the Association of Manufacturers and Formulators of Enzyme Products (AMFEP).
Mrs. Karen Meesen
Secretary
Karen Meesen is the Deputy Director for International Operations for the PA group of companies.
Mr. Winfried van den Muijsenbergh
Member
TBA
Mrs. Merel van Schravendijk
Member
TBA
Mr. Jati Hidayat
Member
Mr Jati Hidayat is a Director of Jawapos Group, a former journalist and business consultant, now occupies leadership position in a media-centric/media-origin company in Indonesia.