Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto is stepping up investment in research and healthcare talent, boosting university research funding by Rp 4 trillion ($236.86 million) and expanding medical specialist training, while keeping the state education endowment fund, known as LPDP, intake broadly unchanged from last year.

The decision was made after Prabowo met around 1,200 university rectors and professors at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said.

“The president directly decided to allocate an additional Rp 4 trillion in research funding,” Prasetyo told a press conference, adding that current research spending at universities stands at about Rp 8 trillion, or roughly 0.34 percent of the state budget.

Prabowo views the existing allocation as insufficient to support Indonesia’s long-term development agenda, particularly in food and energy self-sufficiency, industrialization, and downstream processing, Prasetyo said. The additional funds are expected to strengthen research activities across universities and encourage closer collaboration with the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

Prabowo has also instructed that publicly funded research be closely linked to national strategic programs, including large-scale industrial projects scheduled to break ground this year. “These programs will require human resources with strong mastery of science and technology,” Prasetyo said.

Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara has unveiled plans to roll out a series of priority strategic projects with a total investment of $6 billion, with initial launches scheduled for February 2026. The projects span several key sectors, including bauxite and aluminum processing, sustainable aviation fuel development, oil refining, and poultry farming, Danantara Chief Executive Officer Rosan Roeslani said on Wednesday.

BRIN head Arif Satria said the funding boost is crucial to support Danantara projects aimed at achieving 8 percent economic growth by the end of Prabowo’s tenure. Indonesia’s economy expanded 5.04 percent in the third quarter of last year and is targeted to grow 5.4 percent this year.

Arif said BRIN is prioritizing research in textiles and footwear, as well as strategic industries such as aerospace. He cited the development of the N219 aircraft through collaboration between BRIN and state-owned aircraft maker Dirgantara Indonesia, adding that research on an amphibious aircraft is expected to be completed by late 2026 or early 2027.

Medical Specialists and LPDP Programs

Beyond research funding, Prabowo’s administration is also expanding specialist medical education to strengthen national healthcare services. Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto said the Health Ministry has issued permits for 156 new medical specialist and subspecialist study programs—126 specialist and 30 subspecialist programs.

The policy has already increased the intake of new medical students, with 3,150 new enrollments recorded at the start of 2026, bringing the total number of medical students to around 8,650, Brian said.

The government is also scaling up human capital development through scholarships. Brian said his ministry has prepared 5,750 LPDP scholarships for the 2026 fiscal year, including 1,000 undergraduate awards, 4,000 for master’s and doctoral programs, and 750 for specialist doctorates. LPDP data shows the program accepted 9,358 awardees in 2023 out of 33,396 applicants, and 8,592 awardees in 2024 from 52,842 applicants.

The government has allocated Rp 15 trillion for LPDP postgraduate scholarships in the 2026 state budget, compared to Rp 11.85 trillion in realized spending in 2024. As of Sept. 30, 2025, LPDP’s expenditure stood at Rp 7.46 trillion.

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