Pharmacy Higher Education Must Transform into a National Health Innovation Hub
Indonesia is entering a new era of health development. Major challenges remain, ranging from high dependency on imported medicinal raw materials, the rise of non-communicable diseases, the need for halal health products, to the demand for national pharmaceutical industry independence. At the same time, technological developments such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and digital health have fundamentally altered the global healthcare landscape.
Amid these changes, a crucial question arises: will pharmacy higher education institutions continue to act solely as educational bodies producing graduates and scientific publications, or will they transform into innovation centres that generate tangible solutions for society? This question becomes increasingly relevant as Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII), together with the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), formalised a strategic research partnership and simultaneously launched the Centre for the Study of Pharmaceutical Innovation and Excellence Development (PUSPIKFAR). This step demonstrates that the future of pharmacy higher education no longer focuses only on knowledge transfer, but on creating real impact through innovation.
For decades, the measure of a university’s success was often determined by the number of students, graduates, and scientific publications produced. Although these three indicators remain important, the challenges of the era demand a broader role. The university of the future must be both a producer of knowledge and a generator of innovation. Universities must be able to connect laboratories with industry, research with public policy, and science with societal needs.
In the context of pharmacy, this transformation is crucial. Pharmacy is a field of science situated at the intersection of health, technology, industry, and community service. Research on natural materials, drug delivery technology, product safety, pharmaceutical services, and public health literacy has great potential to be translated into products, services, or policies that directly impact the quality of life.
In many developed countries, universities have evolved into innovation hubs, collaborative centres that bring together academics, researchers, industry, government, and the community to jointly create innovative solutions. In this model, universities do not work in isolation. The success of innovation is determined by the ability to build an ecosystem that allows ideas to develop into products, technologies, services, or policies that can be utilised by society.
This concept is known as the Triple Helix model, a synergy between universities, government, and industry. Currently, this model is even evolving into a Quadruple Helix, which places the community as an integral part of the innovation process. Through this approach, pharmacy higher education institutions can become a bridge between public health needs, the research capabilities of academics, and government policy support.
The transformation of higher education into an innovation hub requires strong institutional instruments. One such instrument is the existence of a study centre. Previously, many study centres in universities functioned as forums for academic discussion. However, going forward, study centres must develop into innovation engines capable of integrating research, services, training, testing, and community engagement.
PUSPIKFAR UII serves as an interesting example of this approach. This study centre integrates various strengths already possessed by UII Pharmacy, including a pharmaceutical nanotechnology research centre, endophyte research, cell culture, zebrafish, halal research, community clinical pharmacy, a health training centre, a drug information service centre, and an ISO 17025 certified testing laboratory. This model enables the creation of a complete innovation chain, from the discovery of active ingredients, formulation development, and safety testing, to implementation in the community.
Indonesia aims to become a developed nation by 2045. To achieve this goal, the health sector must be supported by a strong innovation system. Pharmacy higher education holds a highly strategic position in this agenda, not only as a producer of health workers but also as a centre for national health technology development. In the future, fields such as nanomedicine, precision medicine, digital health, artificial intelligence, halal pharmaceuticals, and drug development based on Indonesia’s biodiversity will become arenas of global competition.
Therefore, pharmacy education must also transform. Curricula need to be more adaptive, integrated with research, oriented towards entrepreneurship, and connected with industry. Students should no longer be prepared merely as job seekers, but also as researchers, innovators, and job creators.
Ultimately, the success of higher education is measured by the extent to which the knowledge developed can improve the quality of life of the community, strengthen national health independence, and create added value for national development. The transformation of pharmacy higher education into an innovation hub is no longer an option, but a necessity. A nation that aspires to be independent in health must have universities that not only teach science but also produce innovations that change lives.