Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Stella Christie urged regional governments and stakeholders in the fields of higher education, science, and technology to utilize research from universities in their regions.
In the ministry's statement issued on Sunday, she explained that research from regional universities is expected to be implemented in various government programs or policies at both the central and local levels, which could boost economic growth in the region.
"Our challenge is how these research efforts can be systematically scaled up, so they need to be continuous. Overall, whatever problems exist in the region, experts are there at the universities to offer solutions," she explained.
Christie emphasized that the ministry will continue to strive to scale up research results conducted by universities so that its impact can be felt by a wider community.
She added that regional governments can serve as users or adopters of research from universities in accordance with the needs in their regions.
"In the meantime, the ministry will assist in this, but we hope that collaboration between local governments and the experts at the universities can happen," Christie said.
She also mentioned that in the future development and management of the Garuda Superior High School in North Sulawesi will be based on research conducted by various universities in that province.
Related to this, she added, regional stakeholders must address the needs of surrounding areas by referring to research in construction and building materials, as well as menus in the government's Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program.
"Therefore, universities must be able to collaborate with local governments to promote and utilize extraordinary innovations to address the needs of the community," Christie said.