Kemdiktisaintek to Facilitate Advanced Materials Research Development in Papua

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) will facilitate collaboration between universities and encourage the establishment of an advanced materials laboratory to strengthen university capacity and develop research centres in Papua.

“We are promoting this so that it can become a platform for building capacity in Papua. Lecturers from Cenderawasih University (Uncen) could be invited to the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), for example, so that technology transfer can take place effectively,” Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.

Brian said Kemdiktisaintek would allocate dedicated research funding for Papua, focusing on fields that need to be developed in the region.

The research is expected to make a tangible contribution to addressing problems in Papua.

The minister also called for more students from Papua to gain access to higher education at Indonesia’s leading universities. Better access to education, he said, should go hand in hand with stronger capacity at universities in Papua.

He hoped all parties would produce concrete follow-up measures. Collaboration involving the government, universities and industry is essential to identifying needs and formulating joint programmes.