Indonesia urged to accelerate industrialisation to escape middle-income trap
Higher education minister Brian Yuliarto called for stronger university-business research ties and more graduates in science and technology fields.
Faster industrialisation would help Indonesia take advantage of its demographic dividend and escape the middle-income trap, Higher Education, Science, and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto told an investment forum in Jakarta.
At the Danantara Technology & Innovation Investment Forum (DTIIF) 2026, he described the period before 2045 as an important opportunity, saying the demographic dividend was expected to end around then.
Brian called for a halt to deindustrialisation and stronger industrial development as a route out of the middle-income trap. He pointed to South Korea, China and India as examples of economies where industry had been a major engine of growth, and said innovation would follow the establishment of industries.
He also urged universities and businesses to work more closely on technology research. Academic research should deliver innovations usable by industry, rather than conclude with scientific publications, he said. Businesses, in turn, should contribute more funding and take a greater role in joint research.
Industry finances considerably more research than governments in most developed countries, according to Brian. He said the industrial sector accounts for up to 70 per cent of research funding in Türkiye.
To supply workers for science- and technology-based industries, the minister also sought an increase in graduates with qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
