Antara News·Indonesia·Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at 03:51 AM UTC

Indonesia must build science, tech talent cooperation: Law Minister

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Agatha, Kenzu

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Cooperation in developing human resources in science and technology must be strengthened to support the national innovation ecosystem, Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas said at the 2026 Indonesian Patent Business Forum on Tuesday.

He said that Indonesia had only around 22 percent of university graduates majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), placing the country behind other nations in Southeast Asia.

“We are behind Malaysia, where 40 percent to 43 percent of university graduates take STEM majors. We are also behind Singapore, where 36 percent of students take STEM,” Agtas said.

Agtas expressed hope that improvements to the science and technology ecosystem would cover both upstream and downstream activities.

He said the government had allocated around Rp10 trillion in 2026 to support intellectual property-based activities, including funding for inventors and research institutions.

According to him, this year should be an opportunity for inventors, researchers, and research institutions facing funding shortages.

He said that 35 ministries and government agencies would work together to develop the science and technology ecosystem.

He explained that one form of cooperation would involve dividing responsibilities for basic, applied, and development research, which must be properly carried out rather than concentrated in various research institutions.

He expressed hope that basic research would remain the main responsibility of universities, while the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) would focus on applied research and industry would handle development research.

“So this is the ecosystem being prepared today in the Intellectual Property Master Plan that we are currently drafting,” he added.

He called on all parties to support the Intellectual Property Master Plan so that it could serve as a single guideline. The plan is expected to be incorporated into a presidential regulation to be issued soon and become part of the National Strategic Project (PSN).

If the master plan becomes a PSN, he said he believed that securing all forms of support, including laboratory facilities and funding, would become easier.

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