LIPI needs more young researchers

LIPI needs more young researchers

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) is in need of more
young researchers as 55 percent of its scientists are aged above
45 years old.

"I'm not saying that those who are older than 45 years are all
unproductive. I'm saying that young researchers, who are still in
their 30s, mostly have more energy than older ones, and
therefore, are able to conduct more studies with better results,"
LIPI head Umar Anggara Jenie said here on Friday.

LIPI currently employs 1,037 researchers, around 570 of them
are aged above 45 years old.

As civil servants, LIPI researchers have to retire at 55 years
old.

Umar said as part of a regeneration program, LIPI has proposed
that the government recruit 600 young researchers in the next two
years.

"The government has given our proposal the green light, but we
still have to wait for the final decision," said Umar.

Once approved by the government, the young researchers -- whom
it is expected will come from various fields, including
electrical engineering, computer science and telecommunications
-- will be spread among 22 LIPI research centers and its five
bureaus.

They are expected to undergo training so as to broaden their
knowledge and skills in their respective fields.

Umar said he looked up to China, whose Chinese Academy of
Sciences (CSA) employs over 50,000 researchers.

"The academy has 37,000 full-time researchers and 20,000 part-
time researchers, most of whom are still young. It's a huge
number compared to ours," he said.

In an effort to increase the number of researchers in the
country, LIPI and four state universities signed last year an
agreement in which LIPI would assist post-graduate students in
conducting research to obtain their doctorate degrees.

The four state universities are the University of Indonesia,
Bandung Institute of Technology, Gadjah Mada University in
Yogyakarta and Bogor Institute of Agriculture.

Under the agreement, each student receives assistance from his
or her university professor and also from a LIPI researcher.

Each student receives Rp 300 million (US$32,600) for three
years of study from the Office of the State Minister of Research
and Technology.

Upon completing their studies, they will be required to work
for LIPI for five years.

"The purpose is for them to share the knowledge and skills
they have acquired with their colleagues in LIPI, so as to
improve the quality of our research," said Umar.

Last year, 11 post-graduate students took part in the program.
This year, four post-graduate students have been enrolled so far.

LIPI prefers applicants aged below 35 years old.

Also on Friday, Umar conferred the Sarwono Prawirohardjo Award
to noted historian Taufik Abdullah and genetics expert Sjamsul
Arifin Achmad. The prestigious award is given to outstanding
researchers in conjunction with LIPI's anniversary.