President Adds Rp4 Trillion Research Funds, Asks Campus to Take Part in National Development

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto has added a research and innovation fund allocation of Rp4 trillion for all public and private universities.

Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto conveyed that the President asked universities to take a greater role in national development, amid global geopolitical challenges and internal problems of the nation.

The message was conveyed by the President when inviting the leaders of public and private universities and professors at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta, Thursday, January 15. This meeting was the third invitation from the President to the academic community in less than a year.

"The president calls the leaders of universities and professors as the brains of our country. They are asked not only to lead academically, but also to reflect on their real contributions to society, nation, and country," said Brian, Thursday, January 15.

The President, said Brian, also touched on serious challenges that Indonesia still faces, such as corruption, under-invoicing, and state leakage.

"This condition requires universities to produce superior human resources who are not only strong in capacity and capability, but also have high integrity, a nationalistic spirit, and are in the interests of the nation," said Brian.

Furthermore, Brian also touched on the increasingly dynamic global situation. He said, the President hopes that universities will become the locomotive for mastering science and technology so that Indonesia is able to be independent and survive.

"As a form of trust and mandate, the President has increased the allocation of research and innovation funds by Rp. 4 trillion for all public and private universities," he said.

"This policy shows the President's great hope that the campus will make a significant contribution to the progress of the nation," he concluded.