UNAIR NEWS – Higher education institutions’ roles are not only to produce the latest science research but also to bridge and connect researchers to the industry. In line with this role, Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – COMSTECH held an International Training and Management Workshop on Managing Science and Technology Parks (STPs).
The official opening of the STPs international workshop took place on Monday, September 4, 2023. The final activity of the event was a visit of OIC-COMSTECH and UNAIR delegates to PT Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia on Thursday, September 7, 2023. For your information, PT Biotis has been UNAIR’s partner during the development of Merah Putih vaccine.
Bridge between researchers and industry
Almando Geraldi, SSi, PhD, a lecturer at the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) UNAIR, was also involved in the visit. He said that the OIC-COMSTECH delegates’ visit to PT Biotis was an effort to bridge the world of research and industry.
“Alhamdulillah we just finished a visit to PT Biotis with the OIC-COMSTECH delegates. We got a lot of insights into how to bridge researchers with the industrial world, in this case, concerning Merah Putih vaccine,” said Almando.
Through this visit, the delegates had the opportunity to see the vaccine production firsthand at PT Biotis. The delegates, said Almando, showed great enthusiasm.
“The delegates who attended were given direct experience in the production of highly sophisticated vaccines. They also said that they were very impressed with the courage of Indonesia, Biotis and UNAIR to develop halal vaccine products for the community,” he explained.
He hoped that this STPs forum can become a forum for fostering further collaboration with OIC-COMSTECH and other institutions. Furthermore, it is also expected to be a momentous forum to improve relations between researchers and industry.
“Through this forum, we have shared knowledge about the establishment of STPs, so in the future, UNAIR is expected to collaborate with COMSTECH and other institutions to initiate the formation of STPs. Hopefully, in the future, we can link research results with industry so that it can provide more benefits to society,” he emphasized.
Future potentials
FX Sudirman, as Director of PT Biotis said that his party felt joy and proud because PT Biotis can host OIC-COMSTECH and UNAIR. According to him, COMSTECH, as part of OIC, is a potential vaccine product for Indonesia and UNAIR.
“We are very proud to be able to host this meeting. COMSTECH, as part of OIC is a market share of potential vaccine products. As a part of the OIC, we can also become a production hub (network) for the OIC countries,” he said.
Through this visit, FX Sudirman hopes there will be continued relations and collaboration between Indonesia and other OIC member countries. This way, the use of this product innovation made by Biotis and UNAIR can develop more massively and widely.
“I hope there will be follow-up activities after this visit, continuous relations with member countries, such as in bilateral relations, for example. That way, we hope it can become a space for greater growth and development of Biotis and UNAIR products,” he hoped.
Author: Nuri Hermawan
