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Solution-driven research, robust ecosystem needed
Strong, research-intensive higher education institutions provide the necessary fabric for the country’s “academic ecosystem” from which innovation will grow.
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Aiming high: Students from Airlangga University’s School of Medicine examine sputum samples at the school’s microbiology laboratory in Surabaya, East Java. The government is seeking to boost research in higher education in a bid to improve the quality of Indonesia’s universities. (Antara/Moch Asim)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently declared his plan to improve Indonesia’s competitiveness by refocusing the research and innovation agenda. This initiative needs to be supported.
The key to focus on the right areas lies within two factors. First, we need to identify the strategic research to focus on. To do this, we must understand our competitive advantages that will allow us to contribute to solving global challenges. Second, we need to invest in high quality domestic researchers and research-intensive universities, as they are the basis of the country’s research and innovation architecture.
The country needs to build a robust “academic ecosystem” centered around empowering its higher education institutions, from which scientific thinking can permeate the substrate of our ethos. Playing to our strengths is the solution-driven strategy.
Increasing our national competitiveness lies within developing a problem-solving mindset and in our rapid moving era, this means solving global problems. To successfully transition from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy, a national problem-solving mindset is necessary, thus research and innovation is the key. For Indonesia, this transition is imperative to break free from the middle-income trap. Consequently, the entire research and innovation agenda must be designed with a clear understanding of the underlying global challenges.
As we begin this transition, we must recognize our competitive advantages to prioritize our research focus. For example, Indonesia’s biodiversity is rated second-highest in the world. With such resources at our fingertips, combined with traditional knowledge, we can pave the way to leading the world in discovering new types of food and drugs.
Another global problem that is gaining huge momentum is the need for sustainable energy. Located in the Ring of Fire, Indonesia is frequently hit by natural disasters, however it also means we are in a prime position to utilize our geothermal energy resources (of which we possess over 40 percent of the world’s capacity) and become a prominent contributor to this global challenge. The prospect of being a new sustainable energy provider is not the only advantage of Indonesia’s unique geography, as with our need for disaster mitigation comes the potential to make this niche an area of expertise.
Furthermore, Indonesia is home to more 700 languages with a myriad of cultures and ethnicities. Harnessing our knowledge, we should teach the world how to resolve and manage conflicts, a very valuable ability as more countries become increasingly multicultural. This diversity characterizes Indonesia and will therefore also allow us to become a beacon of cultural tourism.
