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ndonesia's third president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie was on Saturday honored with an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy Technology by the University of Indonesia (UI) for his contribution to science in practice as a technocrat.

"Prof. Dr. Ing. Habibie is a scientist as well as a creative technocrat who does not put aside philosophy in his practice *as a national leader*," UI rector Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri said during the award ceremony that coincided with the graduation of 229 bachelor degrees, 136 specialists, 972 master's degrees and 68 doctorates.

In his speech, Habibie underlined the importance of education in developing a country, as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution.

He said the development of reliable and skilled workers "must be followed by the development of sustainable research and technology, as well as availability of working fields".

Therefore, he urged the government and companies developing new products to increase their research and technology budgets.

"If needed, the companies that cooperate with government research institutions *should be* given tax incentives," Habibie said.

Saturday's award was the fourth of its kind presented to the former president, but Habibie said he considered this honor particularly special because UI was where he first enrolled as a student, "even though I only *attended* for nine months before I transferred to Aachen Technical University in Germany", he added.

Habibie previously received an Honorary Doctorate in Science from Cranfield Institute of Technology of England, and an Honorary Doctorate for Public Administration from Chungbuk National University of Korea. In Indonesia, he also gained an Honorary Degree in Technology and Civilization from Hasanuddin University.

Habibie said he would continue teaching students at UI and other universities to transfer his knowledge to the next generation.

"I have two children and six grandchildren but my intellectual children and grandchildren are in the thousands," he said, adding that he felt obliged to transfer his knowledge to them all.

In response to a media question about the issue of the impeachment of Vice President Boediono or President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the Bank Century scandal, Habibie said people should not jump to the conclusion of impeachment every time they felt disappointed with their leaders.