SEMARANG – The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) and Politeknik Negeri Semarang (Polines) held a socialization event for the Industry Invitation Program at the Gradhika Bakti Praja Building in Semarang on Thursday (11/13/2025). This event aims to strengthen synergy between universities and industry and encourage research results to go beyond mere scientific publications and directly benefit the industrial sector in Indonesia.
The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology emphasizes that research in higher education institutions has significant potential to provide tangible solutions to industry needs. Through this program, the ministry seeks to open up broader collaboration, accelerate research downstreaming, and enhance national competitiveness through applied research-based innovation.
Director of Polines, Dr. Garup Lambang Goro, ST, MT, in his remarks said that this step is a strategic necessity to ensure that research truly has an impact on society.
"Fundamentally, research requires funding. Research cannot exist in isolation. Collaboration with industry is key to implementing research results and providing tangible benefits," he said.
In her remarks, July Emmylia, SE, MM, Head of the Central Java Provincial Trade Office, expressed her appreciation for the event. She stated that synergy between universities and industry is crucial for supporting regional economic growth and accelerating the utilization of research-derived technology.
"We greatly appreciate the steps taken by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology and the Indonesian National Polytechnic for opening up this kind of collaboration. The industrial world needs innovation, and universities have the capacity to produce such technology. Collaborations like this must continue to be strengthened," he said.
Meanwhile, the Director of Downstreaming and Partnerships at the Ministry of Education and Technology, Prof. Yos Sinitiyoso, ST, M.Eng., Ph.D., explained that the Industrial Invitation program covers various fields with a focus on eight national priority sectors, namely food security, energy, maritime, industrialization, downstreaming, health, advanced materials, and renewable energy.
"We're giving industry the opportunity to submit their product, solution, or technology needs. We'll then gather these needs and use them as the basis for a call for proposals for researchers at universities. This way, both research and industry can mutually benefit from each other," he said.
He emphasized that this approach is expected to strengthen the direction of national research to be more adaptive and relevant to industrial needs, while simultaneously accelerating the downstream innovation process.
This outreach activity was attended by lecturers, researchers, students, and industry representatives from various sectors. Participants received information about program mechanisms, funding opportunities, and proposed research-industry collaboration models.
The Ministry of Education and Science and Technology hopes this program can serve as a momentum to strengthen the national research ecosystem, making universities centers of innovation capable of meeting the needs of industry and society in a sustainable manner.