Kemdiktisaintek to bolster the role of university research in industrial transformation

Jakarta – The Ministry of Education, Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) continues to push to strengthen the role of universities and the national research ecosystem to support the industrial transformation agenda.

In a statement from Jakarta on Thursday, the Minister of Education, Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Mendiktisaintek) Brian Yuliarto said it is important to integrate science, technology, and market needs to drive sustainable economic growth.

‘We must be bold in testing and pushing non-linear progress through strengthening science- and technology-based industry. Industrialisation must not proceed as usual, because its potential can grow exponentially,’ Mendiktisaintek Brian said.

Mendiktisaintek said that science- and technology-based industrialisation is the key to escaping the middle-income trap.

Minister Brian highlighted the classic challenge known as the valley of death, the gap between results from university research and the stage of commercialisation in the industrial sector, noting that many research products have yet to survive to the industrialisation stage.

This condition shows that economic feasibility studies should be conducted at an early stage when discussing downstreaming, not after the product has been developed.

Responding to Mendiktisaintek, Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Aida Budiman said the Bank Indonesia Institute has a role in supporting research relevant to national economic policy and collaboration with the government, including in developing mineral downstreaming models.

‘We have a range of research opportunities, both those conducted with Kemdiktisaintek and trend research, that can serve as the basis for policy recommendations and economic innovation,’ Budiman said.

The government is pursuing mechanisms that can attract industry participation in funding and utilising university research outputs. Through cross-sector strategic collaboration, Kemdiktisaintek is optimistic that Indonesia’s science and technology can become a primary driver of the nation’s economic transformation.