Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian government is ramping up investment in education, research and innovation to prepare its highly skilled workforce for a new phase of development.
Addressing a meeting with 150 researchers from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) on August 6, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto affirmed that mastery of science and technology is essential for accelerating national development and enhancing Indonesia's global competitiveness.
He stressed that a country can only achieve breakthroughs with a strong scientific and technological foundation, underpinned by high-quality education.
Indonesia plans to establish a nationwide network of schools for gifted students offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum to meet international education standards. The government will also expand partnerships with leading universities worldwide through joint education, research and knowledge transfer programmes to develop globally competitive human resources.
The same day, BRIN Head Arif Satria unveiled a strategy to develop strategic technologies that will underpin economic growth over the next two to three decades. BRIN has identified six priority areas: semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), gene technology, quantum technology, nuclear technology and space technology.
BRIN is also building a comprehensive nuclear technology ecosystem covering uranium and thorium mining and processing, nuclear fuel production, reactor technology, radiation safety and radioactive waste management. Arif said developing these technological capabilities now will enable Indonesia to implement its future nuclear power programme independently rather than relying solely on imported technologies./.
