On 25 February, the University of Warwick signed a Memorandum of Understanding as one of six founding members of the UK-Indonesia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Sciences (UKICIS).

UKICIS brings together the best of Indonesian academic talent at the Universities of Warwick, Nottingham and Coventry, together with those at Institut Teknologi Bandung, IPB University and Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia. These founding members are supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, the British Embassy in Indonesia, and the Indonesian Ministry of Research and Technology/National Agency for Research and Innovation.

UKICIS aims to become a beacon for knowledge exchange and tech transfer between the two countries. The consortium will also serve to develop and enhance Anglo-Indonesian educational, economic and cultural links through outreach activities and community engagement.

Professor Christine Ennew OBE, Provost said:

“Global challenges such as food security, the climate emergency, and disease pandemics can only be properly addressed through true international collaboration – different countries and institutions pooling their expertise, their resources, and their unique local knowledge.

“The UK-Indonesia research consortium will serve to further connect our two countries in this way, establishing a research and educational network that will seek to tackle widespread social and scientific issues, from urban rehousing and women’s empowerment to energy and protecting crops.

“Warwick welcomes hundreds of students from Southeast Asia to its campus every year, and we’ve hosted events such as the Warwick Indonesia Forum, the Indonesian Scholars International Convention, and the Overseas Indonesian Students’ Association Alliance International Symposium, in the last few years.

“I am proud that Warwick is now building on its strong existing links by co-founding this new consortium, alongside our partners across Indonesia and the UK.”

In its first online forum, held immediately after the MoU signing, UKICIS and the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia gathered academics, policy makers and industrialists working across the spectrum of vaccines provision. Together the experts discussed the challenges that new COVID-19 virus variants pose to vaccination efforts, and brainstormed ways to raise public awareness on the importance of vaccines. Keynote speeches were given by Amanda Solloway MP, UK Minister for Research, and Innovation and Prof. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Indonesian Minister of Research and Technology. Panel members included Prof. Lawrence Young, Prof. Ali Ghufron Mukti, Prof. Dame Jessica Corner and Prof. Dr. Eng. Kuwat Triyana, M.SI.