AUSTRALIA

Climate Change 

• Indonesia and Australia Advance Low-Emissions Energy Transition: Partnerships for infrastructure
• Minister Kearney issued a National Health and Climate Strategy
• The WTO issued ‘Trade Policy Tools for Climate Action’.
• IRENA and the WMO issued ‘2022 Year in review: Climate-driven Global Renewable Energy Potential Resources and Energy Demand’.
• The IEA said 36 countries launched a forum aimed at accelerating the decarbonisation of industry.
• CSIRO issued ‘Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in hard-to-abate industries’.

Digital transformation 

• Minister Rishworth and others discussed a remote digital connectivity program and domestic violence in an Alice Springs press conference.  
• Recordings of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia 2023 Symposium, Digital Society: Social science perspectives for a better future, are now available on their Youtube channel.

Research sector

• A new program at the Academy of Social Sciences for Australia aims to revolutionise social science research capacity, networks, and influence across the Indo-Pacific. Launched in November 2023, Boosting Social Sciences and their Contribution to Better Lives is a collaborative partnership between the Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC) and the Global Development Network (GDN), with generous funding from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
• Two discussion papers released by the International Science Council (ISC) and produced by the ISC’s The Future of Scientific Publishing project have now been released for feedback. Paper One: The Key Principles to Scientific Publishing and Paper Two: The Case for Reform of Scientific Publishing, are available along with a related blog that argues for essential reforms to scientific publishing to create a new era of open knowledge.

GEDSI

• ASSA Fellow Kate McGregor’s podcast  Talking Indonesia: Activism, memory and sexual violence accompanies her recent book and explores the hidden history of Indonesia’s WWII experience of enforced prostitution.

INDONESIA

Research and Technology

• The Head of BRIN, Laksana Tri Handoko, opens up opportunities for research collaboration in the field of space for researchers in Timor-Leste.
• The National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) Timor-Leste collaborates with BRIN on the implementation of research and capacity building in the development, operation, and governance of repository systems and the International Serial Data System (ISSN).
• BRIN, the Indonesian Nuclear Society (HIMNI), Pamulang University (UNPAM), and the Indonesian Radiation Protection Association (APRI), organise the International Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology, and Application (ICONSTA) 2023.
• BRIN has provided support to various SMEs and industries in the food processing sector, leading to the development of sustainable research. There are five research product patents that industry has licensed through a joint research scheme between BRIN researchers and industry or SMEs.
• BRIN states that the Timau National Observatory in East Nusa Tenggara will operate in 2024. The Timau National Observatory will generate a wealth of research through installed telescopes for space science.
• Six Private Higher Education Institutions in the Higher Education Services Agency (LLDIKTI) Region III have signed a MoU with international industry partners, including joint research projects.
• BRIN presented the results of research in the energy and manufacturing sectors during 2023 to support Golden Indonesia 2045.
• Researchers from BRIN collaborated with BRIDA to research the impact of the Capital City of Nusantara (IKN) on the potential revenue and expenditures of the Kutai Kertanegara Regency.

Research and Funding

• BRIN announced it will open the Call for Research Collaborations of Rumah Program of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Organisations (OR IPSH) for 2024 in the BRIN Insight Every Friday (BRIEF) event on December 1, 2023. The event disseminated various information about the event, including the terms and conditions, the schedules, themes, the outputs, prioritising teamwork and collective product, the schemes, funding, and more.
• Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology provides additional funding worth IDR 1.9 trillion for 21 universities for the transformation of state universities into legal entities or PTN BH.

Research and Innovation

• The Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, Teten Masduki, encourages the Academy of Cooperative Economics Makassar to develop business model research that focuses on supporting downstream and industrialisation related to derivative products from seaweed.

Research and Licenses

• The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology revealed its ongoing work on the Circular Guidelines for the Utilisation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for ethical AI practices.

Research and Women

• UNESCO noted that only 33.3% of researchers worldwide were women in 2021. However, in Indonesia, based on BRIN data in 2023, there has been an increase in the percentage of female researchers, reaching 45%.
• The Acting Director General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nizam, stated that parenting styles and the implementation of Permendikbudristek Number 30 of 2021 play a crucial role in preventing sexual violence on campus.
• The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has addressed a total of 215 cases of violence occurring across all levels of education in Indonesia from January 2021 to December 2023. The Ministry, has administered various degrees of sanctions, emphasising the commitment to fostering a learning environment free from bullying, intolerance, and sexual violence across all educational levels.

Environment and Climate Change (ECC)

• Head of the Earth and Maritime Research Organisation of BRIN, Ocky Karna Radjasa, highlights the priority of long-term research in efforts to reaffirm BRIN’s commitment to disaster and climate change research.
• BRIN organised a Workshop on Promoting Bioplastic Materials to Reduce Marine Plastic Litter in the Asia Pacific Region.
• BRIN is collaborating with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Charles Sturt University (CSU) Australia in developing a fishway for the sustainable management of river water resources.
• The Indonesian government ensures that the development of Nusantara as the new Capital City (IKN) will not harm the environment and is set to create a new tropical rainforest.

Research and Disability

• The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, through the Centre for Character Strengthening (Puspeka), made International Disability Day a momentum to support the spirit of inclusivity, particularly in disabilities and gender equality in educational units in Indonesia.

---

Updates supported by Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA)