en.malanginspirasi.com – The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, emphasized that the quality of lecturers, professors, researchers, and academics at universities largely determine the bright future of Indonesia during his speech on the National Seminar of the 2026 Science, Technology, and Industry Convention (KSTI) at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on Thursday, June 26th.
This is because universities must be centers for the birth of innovation and real solutions to address the nation’s challenges.
In front of hundreds of rectors, professors, lecturers, and academics from across Indonesia, the President emphasized that a nation’s progress always stems from the best thinking from the world of education and research.
“I have always believed that professors are the smartest people a country has. If the nation wants to rise and progress, the potential of universities and campuses must be maximized,” Prabowo said on the opening speech.
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According to the President, throughout the history of human civilization, major leaps in life have always been driven by advances in science and technology.
From the agricultural revolution to the modern industrial era, everything began with knowledge and innovation.
Therefore, he believes that the role of lecturers and professors is no longer limited to merely teaching in the classroom or producing scientific publications, but must also be able to produce breakthroughs that have a direct impact on the welfare of the people.
“Every innovation, every change, every progress of a nation always comes from its best thinkers,” he emphasized.
Prabowo emphasized that the primary goal of the nation is to provide a decent and prosperous life for all its people.
To achieve this goal, all of the nation’s intelligence and intellectual capacity must be devoted to solving real societal problems, especially the weakest and most vulnerable groups.
“Shouldn’t we dedicate all our intelligence to our poorest and weakest people?” he said.
The President also highlighted the importance of collaboration among the nation’s elite, including academics, government, the business world, and industry.
According to him, history shows that nations whose elites are able to work together will recover more quickly than those mired in prolonged conflict.
He reminded that the world is currently in a geopolitical situation full of uncertainty, from wars in Eastern Europe to conflicts in the Middle East.
In such a situation, Indonesia must maintain stability while strengthening national competitiveness.
“A nation whose elites cannot work together usually never reaches its full potential,” said Prabowo.
Challengers for All Universities Addressing Strategic National Issues
On that occasion, the President specifically challenged universities to address various strategic national issues through research and innovation.
He questioned why resource-rich Indonesia still relies on imports in a number of crucial sectors, from food to manufacturing.
Prabowo cited examples such as Indonesia’s dependence on wheat imports, its palm oil productivity, which lags behind Malaysia’s, and the suboptimal national automotive industry.
“I often ask professors, why don’t we have our own wheat seeds? Why is our palm oil productivity still lower? Why, after decades, haven’t we been able to fully develop a strong national car?” he said.
According to the President, these questions were not merely criticism, but rather an invitation for universities to focus more on applied and solution-oriented research.
He emphasized that the revival of the national industry depends not only on machinery, technology, or infrastructure, but primarily on the quality of its people.
Prabowo believes that Indonesia has significant potential to become a highly developed nation.
As the world’s fourth-most populous country and with abundant natural resources, Indonesia should have all the prerequisites for making a major leap forward.
However, this capital will only be valuable if superior human resources and a strong research ecosystem deliver support.
Therefore, the President encouraged universities to strengthen synergies with the government and industry so that research results do not remain academic works, but become innovations that can be downstreamed into high-value-added products.
He appreciated various university initiatives that have begun to contribute to the development of national technology, including domestically produced vehicles.
For Prabowo, even small successes in national innovation must be appreciated as stepping stones towards greater independence.
“At least we have started. We must have the courage to start,” he said.
Through the 2026 KSTI (Study of the Indonesian National Strategy) program, the government hopes to create a roadmap for collaboration between universities, industry, and the state to accelerate the transformation of the national economy based on science and technology.
