President Requests "Quick Taste" Research, BRIN - Bappenas is Pursuing Solutions
JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto asked for research to be sharpened to quickly answer the problems faced by the community, emphasizing applied technology in addition to high technology. The direction was conveyed by the Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi after a coordination meeting at Bappenas, Thursday, February 5, which brought together Bappenas, BRIN, Mendiktisaintek, and BPS.
Prasetyo said the meeting was held to "bring together views" so that BRIN research was in line with Bappenas' development plan and the needs of ministries/institutions. The President, he said, also gave instructions so that research could immediately help solve concrete problems, one of which was the handling of household waste and environmental waste.
"It is requested that in addition to high technologies, there are also applied technologies... to be able to solve the problems in society as soon as possible," Prasetyo told reporters after the meeting.
Minister of Bappenas Rahmad Pambudy emphasized that a developed country is not determined solely by natural resources or money, but by the ability to innovate and technology. He emphasized that the development of innovation must be based on comparative advantages, which are then encouraged to become competitive advantages through the role of research and technology, and directed to the implementation stage.
Meanwhile, BRIN Head Arif Satria stated that all parties agreed to formulate and implement the President's instructions as soon as possible to overcome common problems and accelerate Indonesia to become a developed country. Minister of Science and Technology Brian Yuliarto added that research needs to guide industrialization through the projection of relevant technologies in the future as an elaboration of the RPJPN and RPJMN. He also mentioned the need for a national research and innovation roadmap that is jointly developed.
Brian quoted Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer who emphasized that economic progress is based on R&D power. He also exemplified the opportunities for energy collaboration after the visit of 2025 Nobel laureate Professor Susumu Kitagawa from Japan who developed metal organic frameworks (MOFs) for more efficient gas storage, as well as the plan to build a "sister laboratory" at BRIN.
The government has also prepared a joint research funding scheme through a call for proposals. Research infrastructure will also be made "single" so that it can be accessed by BRIN and universities. In addition, the government formed a research consortium for the implementation tasks requested by the President - ranging from waste, cleanliness, urban planning, flooding, to water governance. The direction of the national research policy together with the consortium is targeted to be launched next week.