The Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Arif\nSatria, has identified a problem that sounds like a horror movie title:\nThe Valley of Death. He is not referring to a place inhabited by ghosts,\nbut rather the abyss that often swallows research results before they\ncan ever become products.<\/p>\n
Arif expressed this concern during the Kick-Off of the Indonesia\nInnovation Summit & Expo (IISE) 2026 in Jakarta on Tuesday\n(8\/9\/2026). A month earlier, similar concerns were raised by the\nMinister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Brian Yuliarto,\nduring the launch of the Merah Putih Development Policy Research Program\n(PRIMA).<\/p>\n
On one side, there are researchers with new findings; on the other,\nthere is industry in need of technology. Between them lies a gap that\ncauses many discoveries to end up merely as prototypes, research\nreports, or seminar materials, eventually disappearing quietly into\narchives.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon is not unique to Indonesia. Innovation literature has\nlong recognised the \u2018technology valley of \u0639\u062f\u0645 death\u2019. This refers to the\nfact that many innovations that successfully pass initial research\nstages fail when they must move towards mature prototypes, production,\ncertification, funding, and market entry.<\/p>\n
Academic research often stops at proving that something \u2018can be\ndone\u2019. Industry, however, asks much harsher questions: Can the research\nresult be produced? What is the cost? Who will buy it? Who will\nguarantee its quality? And when will it generate profit?<\/p>\n
Laboratories operate on the logic of knowledge, whereas companies\noperate on the logic of value. A researcher may take pride in creating a\nnew material in a few grams, but a factory will not automatically\napplaud. Factories require consistent quality, reasonable prices,\navailable machinery, clear permits, and real buyers.<\/p>\n
Consequently, the \u2018Valley of Death\u2019 consists of several distinct\ngaps: a technological gap when prototypes are immature; a funding gap\nwhen research funds run out but investors are hesitant to enter; an\nindustrial gap when universities lack production facilities; and a\nregulatory gap when permits and standards fail to keep pace.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, innovation is like a car that has an engine but lacks a\nroad, registration, and a buyer.<\/p>\n
An example brought by Arif from India illustrates how this gap can be\nnarrowed. At IIT Madras in Chennai, there is a Research Park designed to\nbring campuses, industry, and startups together. One startup that\nemerged from this ecosystem is Agnikul Cosmos, which develops rocket\ntechnology, including 3D-printed engines. IIT Madras lists Agnikul as an\nincubated startup within its Research Park ecosystem.<\/p>\n
The result is more than just a research poster. Agnikul developed\nsemi-cryogenic rocket engines and, in 2024, successfully performed a\nsuborbital flight using a single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine from a\nprivate launch pad in Sriharikota.<\/p>\n
The most interesting aspect is not the rocket itself, which is merely\na dramatic example, but the ecosystem. Agnikul was not sent home by the\nuniversity with the advice, \u2018Go find your own investors.\u2019 Its founders\ngained access to the IIT Madras environment, faculty expertise, research\nfacilities, industrial networks, incubation, and connections with\nISRO.<\/p>\n
The university does not merely produce knowledge; it helps that\nknowledge travel towards usable technology. This is often what is\nmissing in discussions about innovation. We tend to view innovation\nsolely as the act of discovering something. However, discovery is only\nthe first chapter. Following that is a long process of testing,\nrefining, producing, managing standards, finding users, seeking capital,\nand ensuring there is a market.<\/p>\n
Discovery without a downstream ecosystem is like finding a superior\nseed and locking it in a safe. It is safe, certainly, but it will never\ngrow.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-valley-of-death-in-research-1789016385", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }