This is the transcript of a speech by the President of the Australian Academy of Science President, Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FRS FREng FTSE, delivered on 8 August 2025 at the KTSI Conference in Indonesia.
Selamat pagi.
Let me begin by sincerely thanking the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Brian Yuliarto, for the kind invitation to this event.
I’d also like to acknowledge the wonderful team at MoHEST for their warm hospitality throughout my visit.
My thanks must also go to the Director General, Professor Ahmed Najib Burhani, and the Director for the Dissemination and Utilisation of Science and Technology, Professor Yudi Darma, for coordinating my visit and our longstanding collaboration.
It is a great pleasure to be here in Indonesia to mark National Science and Technology Day – a celebration of innovation, ambition, and shared progress.
Tomorrow Australia will also begin our own annual celebration of science and technology, National Science Week.
Demonstrating how every Australian, and indeed every global citizen, benefits from science and technology is something the Australian Academy of Science is focused on not just during National Science Week, but every day of the year.
Our mission is to advance Australia as a nation that embraces scientific knowledge and whose people enjoy the benefits of science.
The Indonesian Academy of Sciences is also focused on communicating the benefits of science, along with medicine and engineering.
This is my first time in Bandung. Last week I was in Jakarta. I wasn’t expecting to return so soon, but it’s great to be here!
For me personally this is a sign of our deepening partnership and an opportunity to enjoy the Indonesian hospitality!
Colleagues from the Australian Academy of Science, the Regional Focal Point for Asia and the Pacific of the International Science Council, and the Australian Council of Deans of Science joined me last week in Jakarta.
Every member of the delegation would have loved to return with me today, such was the warmth of the welcome and the strength of the connections made.
While in Jakarta, I had the privilege of joining a scientific forum hosted by the Ministry, where we explored the role of science in addressing national and regional priorities.
It was fascinating to learn from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology’s approach. And to witness how deeply the Ministry is thinking about integrating research, technology, and education into Indonesia’s development – both in terms of strategic planning and tangible investment.
The Minister and I also discussed Indonesia’s potential role within the International Science Council.
Given the country’s leadership in the region and its growing capacity in science, research, and innovation, Indonesia’s voice would be a vital and respected addition to the global scientific community.
I was especially pleased to hear that Minister Brian Yuliarto wishes to champion this important step – one that would reflect Indonesia’s commitment to shaping science on the world stage.
Last week I also visited some of the excellent organisations that make up your country’s vibrant science and technology ecosystem.
At the Indonesian Academy of Sciences, I was struck by the Academy’s strong commitment to scientific integrity, and its efforts to connect Indonesian researchers with global networks.
Having a Scientific Academy providing independent, evidence-informed advice is an essential feature of any thriving science system.
Last week Chair of the Academy, Dr Daniel Murdiyarso, spoke about Indonesia’s scientific ambitions, alongside advisors at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.
That level of alignment between government and the scientific community is not always easy to achieve, and it speaks very highly of the Ministry’s vision and Indonesia’s commitment to long-term, knowledge-based policymaking.
Our meeting with the Chairman of the National Research and Innovation Agency, Laksana Tri Handoko, also provided a valuable window into Indonesia’s ambition to streamline and energise your national research system.
The agency's integrated model is a bold undertaking – bringing together funding, research, and innovation under one umbrella to accelerate national priorities and build international competitiveness.
My delegation was also very honored to meet some of Indonesia’s young scientists at the Indonesian Young Academy.
The next generation is not only the future of science but the future of society.
The Indonesian Young Academy is playing an increasingly influential role in fostering emerging research leadership and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Its energy, ambition, and commitment to public engagement are exactly what is needed to build a dynamic and future-focused scientific culture.
We are particularly grateful that the co-Chair of the Indonesian Young Academy serves on the Advisory Council of the Regional Focal Point for Asia and the Pacific of the International Science Council.
This is just one of many examples of the strong connection and collaboration between Australia and Indonesian research communities.
I also met with a group of outstanding Indonesian alumni of Australian universities. What a treat that was! Their talent, creativity and leadership were deeply impressive.
Many are already making important contributions across science, policy, and innovation – and it’s clear they will play a central role in shaping Indonesia’s research and technology future.
But they are doing so much more than that – they are weaving a culture of collaboration between Indonesia and Australia deep into the fabric of how we work.
The ties between our institutions are strong, but it is these personal and professional relationships that truly carry the partnership forward.
These conversations – from ministries to academies, agencies to alumni – kept circling back to a common theme, the focus of our discussion today: How can we build a robust, responsive, and interconnected ecosystem that links research, science, technology, and industry?
That is the question I want to explore with you today.
The first and arguably most important element of healthy research, science, technology and industry ecosystem is strategy.
In the middle of last year the Australian Government published a new national science statement for the nation, supported by five new national science and research priorities.
They are:
Six months later the Australian Government announced they would commence a strategic examination of Australia’s research and development system.
This review was warmly welcomed by the Academy and something we've been calling for since 2018. Why?
Because the complex web of policies, funding instruments, institutions and incentives currently in place are not serving Australia’s national interest.
The Academy is supporting this national research and development review with one of the most ambitious policy efforts in the Academy’s 71-year history.
Over the past 18 months the Academy has systematically examined the capability of Australia’s science capability against our future needs, consulting fifty Academy Fellows and other leading experts along the way.
The Academy will launch a 10-year plan for how science will support our national ambitions on 4 September at a symposium in Canberra.
This event will be live streamed, and you are all most welcome to join us in person or online.
Findings from the Government’s strategic examination of Australia’s research and development system will need to be carefully implemented and evaluated to ensure its success.
The second element of a healthy ecosystem is a connected, coordinated approach from research to innovation.
There is often tension between the pace of discovery, which is a long-term endeavour, and the need to accelerate the transfer of new knowledge into products, services and evidence for decision-making.
Many organisations also operate in resource constrained environments, so ways to streamline effort and avoid duplication are important.
This challenge is part of what the Australian Government’s Strategic Examination of research and development will address.
The Academy has recommended a new national model for Australia’s research and development system.
It draws inspiration from Horizon Europe’s partnerships model to coordinate national funding in Australia through a unified national system that utilises co-investment partnerships in areas of national importance.
The new model would create coordination across Australia’s different levels of government, align priorities and optimise allocation of resources for research.
It would also connect Australia’s various research agencies and funding bodies in a collaborative forum. The purpose of this forum would be to provide strategic advice on R&D policy and planning and logically sequence funding to create continuity between discovery and application.
A research, science and technology ecosystem cannot thrive without adequate infrastructure, which is vitally important for discovery and research productivity and increasingly important for use by industry.
There are four tiers of research infrastructure in Australia which serve different users and purposes.
Supercomputing and artificial intelligence are disrupting and transforming scientific research worldwide by augmenting science capabilities and accelerating discovery.
This presents new demands for infrastructure to meet the needs of researchers and industry and to prepare for future technological developments.
Supercomputers are critical modern infrastructure essential to the development and use of artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The capability is a critical issue not only for science in Australia, but also in the Asia-Pacific region more broadly.
I mentioned earlier the Academy’s soon to be released 10-year plan for how science will support Australia’s national ambitions.
One of the key findings that has come out of our work examining our future science capability is that we aren’t training enough domestic students in artificial intelligence. That has implications for building our own sovereign capability.
Australia is not the only country grappling with the challenges of preparing for a future where STEM skills will be crucial.
I was pleased to read about the recent launch of an Indonesian initiative to enhance the literacy and skills of Indonesian youth in STEM and AI.
STEM literacy is at the heart of almost everything we do and how we advance as a nation and a globe, from solving major problems to creating new businesses and jobs we haven’t yet imagined.
A healthy science and technology ecosystem requires investment in the people that generate ideas and create breakthroughs.
This involves securing a pipeline of talent:
Nurturing this pipeline requires us to:
A healthy science and research ecosystem features funding structures that understand the role of governments to provide long term investment and take on greater risk by supporting basic research that does not deliver an immediate application or economic return.
Industry must also invest in research, but this funding is more likely to come later in the process to translate or commercialise research with a specific application.
Governments also create policy settings that incentivise businesses to invest in R&D, due to the flow on effects of this investment to economic growth and productivity.
In this way, both government and industry play important roles by supporting different parts of the ecosystem to deliver impact from science and technology research.
One of the challenges Australia faces is declining investment in research by government and business. This is impacting Australia's productivity and something the Australian Government is trying to address.
Last month the Academy put forward a proposal to incentivise greater business investment. The proposal would see the application of a research and development levy on businesses with annual revenue of $100 million or more.
The levy would be discounted for businesses who already invest heavily in research and development.
The funds collected would be invested directly into research via a long-term sustainable, interest-generating fund - growing the pool of funds available for investment in research and innovation.
We are working hard to persuade our government to consider such a measure.
International collaborations are vital to a healthy science and research ecosystem.
International collaborations:
Think about the sequencing the human genome or the detection of gravitational waves. It was only through international collaboration that these transformational research breakthroughs happened.
In our increasingly complex and unpredictable world, any country or institution can be a collaborator or competitor at any given time or in different areas.
This means that we must partner strategically, on shared goals for our region.
A healthy science and technology ecosystem must have diverse collaborations to manage risk and be able to balance competition and collaboration.
Continuing on the theme of international collaboration, I’d now like to talk about a new initiative called Seeds of Science Asia, which comes under the umbrella of the International Science Council’s Regional Focal Point for Asia-Pacific, which we host at the Australian Academy of Science.
This program offers grants which are designed to strengthen the science-policy interface across the region. This is crucial for ensuring that the research we do informs the decisions that shape our societies and our future.
The goal of Seeds of Science Asia is simple but powerful: to support evidence-informed, adaptive, and forward-looking governance throughout our region.
By building researchers’ capacity to engage with policy processes, and likewise, by building policymakers’ capacity to engage with scientists, we can make sure the best available research is used to address the complex challenges our societies face.
This is a small but significant step towards building a future where science and policy work together for the benefit of all.
There is currently a call for proposals open under Seeds of Science Asia, and I strongly encourage you and your colleagues to consider applying or sharing it within your networks. You can find out more about this on the Academy website and social media or by searching for: “Seeds of Science Asia.”
The Academy is also pleased to be supporting the Asia Science Mission for Sustainability.
This initiative brings together existing networks of researchers, policymakers and stakeholders to pilot projects that progress the Sustainable Development Goals in Asia. By harnessing the power of local science communities embedded within universities, colleges, and civil society organisations, we hope progress can be made with the SGDs.
Initiatives like these lay the foundations for stronger, more resilient, and more just societies within our region by ensuring that science is not only excellent, but also deeply connected to the decisions that shape our world.
The Australian Academy of Science is one of five learned academies in Australia, and a member of the Australian Council of Learned Academies, or ACOLA.
This forum contributes expert advice to inform national policy and to develop innovative solutions to complex global problems and emerging national needs.
And to conclude my presentation today, I’d like to share with you some insights from a new paper produced by ACOLA for the Knowledge Partnership Platform between Australia and Indonesia, also known as KONEKSI.
Contributors to the paper highlighted the challenges of connecting research outputs to measurable economic growth.
This is due to several interrelated factors.
Firstly, the time lag between research investment and economic impact is significant. Benefits from research often take 5 to 10 years to materialise, making it difficult to attribute specific economic outcomes to individual research activities.
This delay complicates policy evaluation and funding decisions, especially in environments driven by short-term results.
Additionally, many research outputs – such as academic publications or early-stage prototypes – do not immediately translate into commercial products or services, further obscuring their economic value.
Secondly, fragmentation in data collection and evaluation frameworks hinders comprehensive analysis.
In Australia, multiple agencies track different aspects of research performance, but there is no unified system that links outputs, for example, patents and publications, to broader economic indicators like gross domestic product growth or productivity.
Metrics often rely heavily on Return on Investment, which can be misleading and fail to capture long-term or indirect benefits such as improved public health, environmental sustainability, or workforce development.
Experts advocate for more holistic and longitudinal approaches, including ecosystem-level indicators like collaboration density, talent mobility, and translational capacity, to better understand the full impact of research on economic growth.
The report outlined six snapshots of relevance for Indonesia, including:
That brings my presentation to a close.
Thank you all for your attention today.
I do hope to return to Indonesia again soon.
Science is the universal language and endeavour that unites us.
I look forward to deepening the collaboration and partnership between our two great countries.
Terima kasih.
© 2025 Australian Academy of Science
