Bridging the gap between academics and policymaking in Indonesia

The current Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim’s policy of Kampus Merdeka (Free Campus), which allows students to take a class from different schools or departments, is a good start to bridge the gap between the interdisciplinary education systems.

IN 2015, Asit Biwas, then a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, and Julian Kirchherr, a researcher at the Oxford University, wrote a very thought-provoking and important opinion piece in The Straits Times titled “Prof, no one is reading you”.

The article gave a new perspective of how academics should think about themselves and their role in the changing society. In the article, they argued that many brilliant ideas academics have do not significantly impact public debates and policymaking.