REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CIBINONG - Indonesia, with a population of more than 240 million, still needed around 191,400 researchers until 2030, Chief of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Lukman Hakim stated.

"The number of researchers is still small, and so is the amount of research funds. Right now, Indonesia has around 8.6 thousand researchers, which is far from the ideal number of 200 thousand," he noted, after addressing a meeting on the dissemination of LIPI's research on efficient technology at the institutes biological research center on Wednesday.

Based on the World Bank standard, the ideal number of researchers is four thousand to five thousand for every one million, he stated, adding that the number of national researchers is far from the international standard.

"What is clear is that Indonesia needs a breakthrough from the future president to promote the research and scientific world," he emphasized.

He underscored the need for the country to promote the development of science and technology including researches now that the present economic growth was based on consumption. LIPI was also making an effort to encourage young researchers and innovators through different contests, he stated.

"This must be changed so that our scientific and technological capability will support the economic growth. Indonesia is rich in natural resources but most of them are exported in unprocessed form. This must be changed to give added value to our commodities," he explained. 

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