Infographics on funding proposals for each university during the 3rd to 6th batch

ITS Campus, ITS News – The brilliant ideas produced by all higher education (dikti) people within the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November (ITS) had proud results. The reason is, as many as 21 of the 25 proposals submitted by ITS were successfully funded and became the second most in the Matching Fund program organized by the Directorate General of Higher Education (Ditjen Dikti) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek).

As one of the programs from Merdeka Learning – Independent Campus (MBKM) promoted by the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Matching Fund is here to encourage a closer and accelerated collaboration ecosystem between campus and the Business and Industrial World (DUDI).

ITS Director of Innovation and Science Technology Area (DIKST), Dr. Ir Achmad Affandi DEA, revealed that the Matching Fund was carried out through the platform provided, namely Kedaireka. “This platform is used to bridge the development of science and technology or engineering produced by universities with the needs of technology and development in industry,” he explained.

ITS Director of Innovation and Science Technology Area Dr. Ir Achmad Affandi DEA

In technical terms, continued the lecturer, who is familiarly called Affandi, Dikti personnel enter the uploaded portfolio. The industry can see whether the database is suitable and can provide solutions to problems in related industries. If interested, a matching collaboration can be carried out through the platform.

“The opposite function applies. After the agreement is taken, participants can prepare proposals and complete other stages such as administrative selection, substance selection, to funding selection,” he explained.

Affandi said that in this program, the funding disbursed by the government was 1:1 for both universities (PT) and industry. It is hoped that later the relationship between PT, industry, and the community will be closer. Because if there is a problem from the industry, the PT can help solve it with the help of research funds from the government.

“The benefits will also be equally obtained, the PT will get the intellectual property copyright, and the industry will benefit from solving problems from the ideas initiated,” he explained again.

Kedaireka Cluster Matching Fund percentage infographic

The Department of Electrical Engineering lecturer explained that of the 25 proposals submitted, 21 were successfully funded, of which there were two proposals from the Vocational Matching Fund. The difference is, the Directorate General of Vocational Education only supervises this program.

Of the many proposals, the ICT robotics cluster has the most significant percentage, namely 42.9 percent, followed by creative, automotive, and incubator as much as 14.3 percent, other groups 9.5 percent, and maritime clusters 4.8 percent. “In the thematic realm, transportation and energy have the largest percentage, namely 19 percent, followed by social, ICT, health, environment and food sectors,” he explained.

In its implementation, Affandi said, the submission of proposals, which had started from January to the end of June 2021, had gone through several batches of announcements. “From the third to sixth batches, ITS managed to get funding for 17 proposals. In the initial batch, it passed one, an additional two proposals from vocational training, and an additional proposal that was just announced,” he continued.

Matching Fund Kedaireka 2021 Thematic Infographics

According to Affandi, ITS in reaching this stage also requires some tips supported by all parties. He said this was due to good socialization and good mentoring so that even with the new program, he was still enthusiastic about participating.

Moreover, he continued, because ITS’s mission in 2021-2025 is to transform from Research Colleges to Innovation Colleges, it is hoped that this ability can be an initiative to explore industrial problems and solve them. “Furthermore, with this funding, the project that will be implemented is expected to increase the enthusiasm of all parties in advancing one of the MBKM programs,” he said.

Not only one, but Affandi also hope if ITS can contribute more to society, to industry partners, business, government, community, alumni, and new startups. So it can provide added value there. “By participating in this program, it is hoped that the involvement of students, lecturers, and industry can be closer to solving problems and having a good impact on society later,” he said at the end. (ITS Public Relation)

Reporter: Fatima Az Zahra