04 July 2025
Fenny Julistine Tarigan
The workshop opened with remarks from Prof. Dr. Robert Sibarani, M.S., Head of the USU Research Institute, who emphasized the importance of enhancing Indonesian researchers' capacity to compete globally through international cooperation and funding.
Moderated by Prof. Dr. Arida Susilowati, S.Hut., M.Si., the first session began with Dr. Keni's presentation on the structure of research funding in the EU and Finland. She highlighted various funding channels such as institutional core funding, competitive project funding from the Research Council of Finland, innovation and applied R&D from Business Finland, and EU programs and private institutions.
"Research cannot be done alone; it must involve collaboration because everyone has different perspectives, including when collaborating internationally," said Dr. Keni, who also shared examples of her research collaborations with Indonesian institutions, including COVID-19 vaccine candidate development and industrial waste management.
The second session, delivered by Dr. Margaretta, focused on technical strategies for accessing EU funding. She highlighted the benefits of EU research funding, such as enhancing scientific reputation, substantial and flexible funding, access to training and capacity-building, and opportunities for extended collaboration.
According to her, many EU schemes, such as the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions and Horizon Europe, are accessible to Indonesian researchers.
"EU research grants can reach hundreds of thousands to millions of euros per project. This covers research costs, training, conferences, publications, and capacity building," she explained.
She also outlined practical steps to initiate research collaboration with European partners, from defining a research focus to finding strategic partners via platforms like CORDIS and Horizon Dashboard to participating in international conferences and matchmaking events.
Lecturers, researchers, and postgraduate students from various USU faculties attended the workshop. Participants actively engaged in discussions, raising questions about the challenges of accessing EU funds, building partnerships with foreign universities, and strategies to ensure research proposals pass rigorous selection.
Through this event, USU aims to broaden its international network while improving the quality of its research toward a truly global level.
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