“Research is the heart of a university’s progress. Through strong and sustainable research, universities do more than just produce scientific publications; they provide real solutions that add value to the local economy and community welfare,” she said in a press release in Jakarta on Sunday.
Christie emphasized that the higher education sector serves a different purpose than primary and secondary education. While the latter focuses on the transfer of knowledge, universities carry a greater mandate: to generate new knowledge through research and innovation.
To this end, strengthening the research culture in universities is key to fostering innovation that aligns with local potential.
She cited research projects at the University of Riau (Unri), such as biomass energy and natural rubber utilization, as having great potential to support the development of resource-based regional industries while strengthening the university’s contribution to regional economic growth.
Currently, the university is conducting several research projects, including the use of natural rubber latex as a binder in emulsion paint to replace imported synthetic materials.
In addition to increasing the added value of rubber commodities, this innovation has the potential to strengthen the local natural resource-based industrial ecosystem and improve the welfare of rubber farmers.
The deputy minister further said that top-tier research must have a clear roadmap, measurable targets, and consider the surrounding ecosystem, including the community, industry, and local government.
She emphasized the importance of strengthening the downstreaming aspect and economic analysis to ensure universities’ research results can be adopted by industries and the community more easily.
Christie also affirmed that the government is encouraging collaboration between universities and cooperatives through the Red and White Village Cooperative program, ensuring that research results can be directly utilized by the public.
“We want universities to do more than just produce scientific publications; they must also utilize Indonesia’s natural wealth to foster innovations that provide real benefits for the community and the economy,” she said.
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Translator: Sean Filo, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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