UGM Science Techno Park (UGM STP) is preparing to accelerate campus-based innovation by optimizing intermediation functions and promoting industrial research activities involving cross and multi-disciplinary fields. UGM STP is gearing up to move forward with the support of the PRIME SteP (Promoting Research and Innovation through Modern and Efficient Science and Techno Park) project as the implementation of Presidential Regulation No. 18 of 2020 concerning the National Medium-Term Development Plan for 2020-2024.
One strategic agenda set is to open up innovation collaboration spaces with potential industry partners to optimize the capacity of Centers of Excellence (CoE) in the fields of Health and Pharmacy; Agro; New and Renewable Energy; Manufacturing and Digital Engineering; as well as Socio-Humanities and Sustainability Management.
“UGM wants to encourage the growth of campus-based research innovations that are expected to fully connect with the needs of industry and society at large,” said the Director of Business Development and Incubation (PUI), Dr. Hargo Utomo, on Friday (7/7) at UGM.
Hargo stated that UGM STP is committed to implementing an innovation downstreaming agenda that aligns with national development focus and priorities. Currently, together with the UGM Directorate of Research, they are overseeing the incubation and acceleration process for several innovative products originating from various faculties/schools, including FKKMK, Engineering, Vocational School, MIPA, and Pharmacy, so that the innovations produced can quickly reach readiness for adoption by society.
“In the field of medical devices and pharmaceuticals, UGM STP is opening collaboration spaces with industry associations to strengthen its capacity in accelerating innovation downstreaming. Primarily, the acceleration of the medical device and pharmaceutical industries relies on research results from universities and industry partners,” he explained.
Furthermore, the Indonesian government has a roadmap for the development of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries as the implementation of Presidential Instruction No. 6 of 2016 concerning the Acceleration of the Development of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industries. However, six years after the issuance of the instruction, it has not been able to optimally encourage the development of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Therefore, UGM is responding by facilitating campus innovators to quickly respond and be motivated to roll out their superior works that meet the needs of the industrial world and society at large.
“Indeed, to realize the independence of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries domestically, a spirit of openness, partiality, and willingness to share a balanced portion among stakeholders is needed. The hope is that the relationship between academia, industry, and government for increasing the absorption of industrial innovations through the TKDN (domestic component level) policy can soon be achieved through the willingness of industry players to produce medical devices and jointly encourage their use and utilization domestically,” he explained.
Hargo said that in this position, universities, including UGM through the Science Technopark as an intermediary unit, can play a role by bridging inventors/academia and industry players in opening collaboration spaces for innovation acceleration; facilitating technology transfer; and fostering technology-based startups or startup businesses.
Furthermore, Hargo stated that the PRIME SteP project is a momentum for UGM, which already has various research and development facilities or learning centers, to immediately move forward with various cross and multidisciplinary collaboration activities. Some of the learning centers owned by UGM include the Teaching Industry Learning Center, Engineering Research and Innovation Center, Animal Science Learning Center, Advanced Pharmaceutical Learning Center, Agriculture Learning Center, Integrated Farming Learning Center, Law Learning Center, and Dentistry Learning Center. Through synergy and collaboration, it is hoped that it can break the chains of scientific, physical, and spatial constraints both within UGM and among industry players in creating value through successfully downstreamed products.
The excellence of university innovation can essentially be achieved through the implementation of differentiation strategies and cost efficiency. These two aspects are future challenges for UGM STP to produce superior products that can be accepted by industry and society.
“This needs to be carried out together with the optimization of learning centers facilitated by UGM STP with the PRIME SteP Project for the next five years in five fields that align with national priorities,” he said.
He reiterated that the PrimeStep Project is a strong momentum by providing a stimulus to build a shared understanding of the role and function of the Science Technopark as a facilitating agent not only for downstream but also for upstream innovation. Additionally, this project is also a momentum to fill the pentahelix collaboration space so that interactions among stakeholders can mutually benefit each other.

“PRIME SteP is a stimulus for acceleration and building a shared understanding of STP and opening collaboration spaces among stakeholders so that the relationships among them converge for activities that can mutually benefit rather than exploit each other,” he explained.