Inaugural summit draws wealth of researchers
The Australia-Indonesia Centre (AIC) has held its first Australia-Indonesia Research Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Summit brought together leading universities and research centres from both nations. This significant bilateral gathering analysed shared national challenges and identified specific opportunities for future research collaborations in five hot-topic areas: health, education, infrastructure, energy, and food and agriculture.
AIC Director Professor Paul Ramadge said it has been a privilege to jointly host Summit with the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.
“This was a crucial first step towards an ongoing commitment to strengthen research and education ties between the two nations,” Professor Ramadge said.
“There are many excellent university-to-university linkages between Indonesia and Australia, and there are many wonderful examples of breakthrough research by individuals or small teams.
“The AIC is looking to extend and multiply these successes through collaboration. It brings together some of the best research centres in both nations to listen to the needs of governments, to analyse these challenges, and to devise potential pathways for research that can deliver results.”
The Chair of the Australia-Indonesia Centre Board, Harold Mitchell AC, believes building closer and stronger linkages are crucial for both nations.
“In my experience, one of the most important aspects of any relationship is close people-to-people links that develop lasting bonds and friendships,” Mr Mitchell said.
“I am pleased that one of the Australia-Indonesia Centre’s early areas of focus will be to address joint national challenges in areas such as agriculture, health, energy and infrastructure. It would be a wonderful result if we can, through smart academic collaborations, improve livelihoods in our nations.”
The Australia-Indonesia Centre is an Australian Government initiative based at Monash University with nodes at the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, and Australia’s peak scientific and research agency, CSIRO.
The Centre aims to strengthen ties with Indonesia through promoting greater community understanding of contemporary Indonesia and its growing importance to Australia; strengthening and deepening Australia-Indonesia linkages in government, business, education, science, research and in communities; and pursuing solutions to shared national challenges in areas such as science, health, food, agriculture, energy and infrastructure via highly collaborative research.
Information on the Summit can be found on the Australia-Indonesia Centre website.