Lam Khin Yong Shares NTU’s PACE of Innovation at KSTI 2025
Bandung – The Indonesia Convention of Science, Technology, and Industry (KSTI) 2025 featured an inspiring presentation by Professor Lam Khin Yong at Sasana Budaya Ganesa, Thursday (7/8).
The Singaporean scientist is widely recognized for his contributions in fostering collaboration between Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and global industry partners. In addition to his strength in building strategic partnerships, Professor Lam also holds deep expertise in computational mechanics, computational nanoscience, BioMEMS, and hydrogels.
Professor Lam began by stating the immense potential of Indonesia, highlighting specific areas where the nation is already performing very well on the world stage. He pointed to global innovation sub-indicators that showcase a powerful foundation for growth:
- Industry R&D Collaboration (Ranked 6th globally)
- Entrepreneurship Policies and Culture (Ranked 6th globally)
- Finance for Start-ups and Scale-ups (Ranked 7th globally)
“These high rankings, combined with Indonesia’s key advantages of a large, dynamic population and a resource-rich landscape, create the perfect conditions to give itself a competitive edge,” said Lam.
Professor Lam explained that NTU’s core strategy focuses on two things: nurturing top-tier talent and bridging the gap between basic research and translational research. This is achieved by empowering researchers through strong corporate relationships and global university partnerships. He stressed that these industry-linked collaborations are vital because communication with industry leads to faster, more effective real-world implementation.
This aligns closely with Indonesia’s national development strategy called Asta Cita, particularly in advancing research, innovation, and the development of high-quality human resources.
Ultimately, NTU’s dynamic research strategy is captured by the acronym PACE:
P = Public support
A stable foundation of government support is crucial for long-term, ambitious research goals.
A = Attract Talent and Adapt to Changes
Professor Lam highlighted how NTU has adapted to the changing aspirations of researchers. For example, recognising that many Ph.D students now aspire to be entrepreneurs, NTU has an innovative programme that allows faculty or Ph.D students to take up to two years of leave to pursue a start-up idea based on their research. During this time, their position at the university is safely secured. This policy de-risks entrepreneurship and has turned NTU into a hotbed for experiments and innovation.
C = Collaboration with Industry
Professor Lam noted that in some fields such as AI, companies and corporations are moving faster than academic labs. Therefore, it is imperative that universities must collaborate closely with industry to keep up and accelerate innovation. These deep partnerships, like the NTU-HP Digital Manufacturing Corporate Lab and the Schaeffler Hub for Advanced REsearch (SHARE) Lab, ensure that academic research remains relevant and is geared towards solving the most pressing industry challenges.
E = Engage Globally
Global engagement is key to tackling complex and unique challenges. Professor Lam highlighted NTU’s partnerships with top institutions worldwide, making a special mention highly relevant to the audience: a collaboration with the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in Surabaya. This partnership, focusing on areas like sustainable energy, demonstrates a commitment to working with Indonesia’s brightest minds to solve shared regional challenges.
By embracing the principles of the PACE framework by fostering talent, collaborating deeply with industry, and engaging globally, NTU has created a vibrant ecosystem. Professor Lam’s journey offers an inspiring and practical model for how Indonesia can leverage its own considerable strengths to build a world-class, innovation-led economy for growth.
Through the KSTI 2025 platform, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) continues to promote impactful research and innovation. These initiatives go beyond academic output to address real-world needs across society and industry. Models like NTU’s reflect the spirit of “Diktisaintek Berdampak”, aiming to build a research ecosystem that is adaptive, collaborative, and future-ready.
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