If AstraZeneca Researcher Indra Rudiansyah And Other Cool Nation Children Returned, Would Indonesia's Research Ecosystem Be Ready?

Inspection at the Yogyakarta BATAN Accelerator Science and Technology Center (Source: Batan.go.id)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir contacted Indra Rudiansyah, an Indonesian student involved in AstraZeneca's research. Erick asked Indra to go home to develop health research in the country. While waiting for Indra to return, the government should settle a number of research issues in Indonesia.

Indra Rudiansyah is currently studying for his doctorate at the Jenner Institute University of Oxford. The opportunity to join the AstraZeneca vaccine development team began when the emerging pathogen diseases research group in Oxford needed additional staff to research AstraZeneca. Indra, who is a member of the malaria vaccine research team, also registered.

The team thrived when the pandemic hit. Indra was accepted and joined in the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine. "Finally, opening vacancies to everyone who wants to join. I happened to register at the time," said Indra on Instagram Live with Erick Thohir.

Indra was previously an employee at a state-owned company, Bio Farma. He has worked at Bio Farma since 2014, before continuing his studies at Oxford via the LPDP route. Erick hopes that Indra will return to Indonesia to help apply the technique for making the AstraZeneca vaccine, which does not yet exist in Indonesia, namely the viral vector.

"I hope Indra, number one, finishes in Oxford. You already have experience with viral factors, which in Indonesia Bio Farma still uses inactivated viruses. Now, with this viral vector, the production system is ready and who knows, it could be possible to develop a Red and White vaccine," he said. Eric.

"Hopefully when we come back we can help Indonesia. Why? Because this vaccine is important. Not only COVID. But basic ones, such as malaria, tuberculosis. (Indonesia) is the highest in the world. Our R&D (research and development) is lacking if I'm honest," he said. Eric.

Research problems in Indonesia

In general, there are three main problems in research development in Indonesia: minimal funding, lack of research and technology planning and financing institutions, and human resources (HR). These problems are unresolved obstacles from period to period of government. Let's dive into it.

Minimum funding

Last May, member V of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) Bahrullah Akbar said the research budget in Indonesia was the lowest. No need on a global scale. At the ASEAN level alone, Indonesia is lagging behind.

Of course. In 2019 and 2020, the proportion of spending on the research sector was only 0.31 percent of GDP. This figure is far below Singapore (2.64%) or Malaysia (1.29%).

Bahrullah calls research an investment today. According to him, a number of studies have shown that an increase in the research budget can automatically increase the GDP growth rate.

Photo illustration (This is Engineering/Unsplash)

This happens because of the global economic trend that is increasingly dependent on the development of knowledge. Bahrullah's words are in line with the Global Funding Forecast 2021 data.

According to the data, there seems to be a trend that began in 2000, where the world's countries increased their research and development budgets. Global Funding Forecast 2021 data records global research funds in 2020 reaching US$ 2.37 trillion, with details of around US$ 676 billion in 2000 and US$ 2.32 trillion in 2020. It has tripled.

Absence of institutions

The next problem is the absence of planning and financing institutions. Last April, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the Head of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Laksana Tri Handoko as Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), a body that Jokowi calls for improving the quality of Indonesian research. There are many expectations from the establishment of BRIN.

The formation of BRIN as an autonomous institution is the impact of the merger of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek). By becoming an autonomous agency for the integration of research and innovation in Indonesia, BRIN will report directly to the president in its duties and functions to integrate R&D between research institutions.

Research institutions under BRIN will include the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Lapan), and the National Nuclear Energy Agency (Batan). It is hoped that there will be more research funds to be managed as basic research funding.

Inspection at the Yogyakarta BATAN Accelerator Science and Technology Center (Source: Batan.go.id)

However, the formation of BRIN is not without problems. Hali Aprimadya, a civitas academica of the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, in an article in The Conversation explained that the merger of research institutions could have serious consequences for the implementation of science and technology (science and technology) policies.

First, the amalgamation of the Ministry of Education and Culture requires the reformulation of a complex national science and technology policy. In this condition, the strategic plan (resnstra) as the mouthpiece of the new ministry's policy is threatened to become abstract and ambiguous. This has the potential to hinder implementation. Hali gave an example of the Freedom of Learning policy and the Job Creation Law.

"A similar situation occurs in ambitious policies, such as the Freedom to Learn or the Job Creation Law, which invites various public interpretations that affect the implementation process."

In addition, the performance of BRIN as an implementing agency for science and technology policies can be disrupted by the current institutional construction. Radboud University research shows that many policy makers in one institution are prone to causing problems that lead to inefficiency. If that happens, the main goal of optimizing the achievement of research output is threatened with failure.

However, what needs to be understood is that the government's involvement in the management of science and technology is a necessity amidst the strengthening of the knowledge-based economic narrative. However, what needs to be monitored is how to make science and technology policies not only visionary on paper but also to enable BRIN to easily implement them.

Human Resources

Regarding human resources, Indonesia seems to have hope. It's not just about Indra Rudiansyah's involvement in the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine. According to data presented by Bambang Brodjonegoro -- then still Minister of Research and Technology -- last January, Indonesia recorded an increase in the number of research publications.

In the 2016-2020 period, Indonesia became the second country in ASEAN to publish the most research. According to Bambang, "The benchmark for research performance in Indonesia is publication." According to this data, the number of Indonesian research publications in 2020 will reach around 46,513.

The details are 23,607 journal articles and 22,906 conference papers. Accumulated from 2016-2020, Indonesia has published 161 thousand researches. In the same period, Malaysia published more than 173,000 researches. "But (Indonesia) is more than other major ASEAN countries," said Bambang.

In this way, academics who have become resources have shown their contribution. Now it is only the government that creates an adequate and quality national research ecosystem so that it is useful for the formation of the nation's civilization in the future.

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