Indonesia strengthens industry links through research funding

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology has officially launched the 2026 Downstreaming and Partnership Program, introducing three funding schemes aimed at accelerating the commercialization of university research to address the country's strategic challenges.

Speaking at the program's launch in Jakarta on Wednesday, ministry official Yos Sunitiyoso said university research should focus not only on producing academic publications but also on delivering practical solutions.

"We are trying not only to improve the quality and impact of our research, but also to address the nation's strategic challenges," he said.

Sunitiyoso said the ministry has allocated a total of Rp454 billion (approximately US$25 million) this year to support more than 1,070 applied research projects involving collaboration between universities and industry.

Of the total funding, Rp317 billion (around US$17.5 million) has been allocated through the State University Operational Assistance (BOPTN) program to support 924 research projects, while another Rp136 billion (approximately US$7.5 million) from the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) will finance 146 projects.

For the 2026 fiscal year, the ministry has introduced three flagship funding schemes.

The first is the 2026 Phase II Research Downstreaming Program, which aims to align university innovation with industry needs.

The program focuses on five priority areas, energy security through efficiency and electrification, waste management, national health security, food self-sufficiency, and digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI).

The second scheme, "International Partnership Research", is designed to support Indonesian researchers collaborating with internationally recognized research institutions.

According to Sunitiyoso, the program consists of two output categories. Category A targets publications in internationally reputable journals ranked in the first or second quartile (Q1/Q2), while Category B focuses on applied innovations and commercially viable prototypes.

The third initiative, introduced for the first time, is the Deeptech Hackathon.

Under the scheme, the ministry will provide grants of up to Rp1.5 billion for universities to organize national-level hackathon competitions.

"The purpose of the hackathon is to develop solutions to real-world problems, for example by collaborating with Danantara on a semiconductor industry hackathon, with the Agriculture Ministry on food security, or on energy transition initiatives," Sunitiyoso said.

Through these three funding schemes, the ministry expects Indonesian research to move beyond academic papers and progress toward incubation, mass production, and broader commercialization, ultimately reducing the country's dependence on imported products.

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Translator: Sean Filo Muhamad, Cindy Frishanti Octavia

Editor: Primayanti

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