Minister Encourages Sriwijaya University To Be Food Research Center

PALEMBANG, S Sumatra, Nov 8 (Antara) - Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education Muhammad Nasir has encouraged Sriwijaya University (Unsri) to conduct research on food security. At the 57th commemoration of Sriwijaya University here on Tuesday Nasir said the university is expected to conduct research and build a large pond that can be used as a research medium. "We have encouraged Unsri to build a large pond in the hope of encouraging research in the fields of hydrology, irrigation, fisheries, agriculture, and is developed to be edutourism," Nasir said. He stressed that universities should be able to provide benefits to industry and business worlds by generating qualified human resources and developing innovation in order to improve the nation's competitiveness. Nasir also expected Sriwijaya University in Palembang to become an educational center in Sumatra that drives local wisdom. The minister said the achievement of Sriwijaya University in the field of publication, research, and innovation has increased significantly. He noted that the number of Indonesian scientific publications in international journals has surpassed Thailand. "On November 6, 2017 at 13.00 Jakarta's time, Indonesia already has 13,792 publications, while Thailand 12,184. We are already above Thailand," the minister said. The minister explained that in 2014 Indonesia's international publications were 4,200, while Thailand producd 9,500 journals. This number was far behind Singapore with 18,000 publications, and Malaysia with 28,000 journals. "In 2015, Indonesia's publication increased to 5,220, while Thailand increased to 12,800 publications, Singapore fell to 17 thousand and Malaysia down to 26 thousand," he said. According to the minister, the number of Indonesian scientific publications continues to increase in 2016 to 11,700, but still cannot be higher than Thailand which reached 13,800 publications. "Finally, in 2017 the number of Indonesian publications exceeds Thailand," he said, adding that research will not be enough if it is only kept in libraries.