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“Strong international partnerships are key to building a globally competitive research ecosystem. This visit became a part of ITB’s vision to foster a more strategic collaboration, not only at the academic level, but also in the commercialization of research outcomes,” said Prof. Tatacipta.

The agenda began with a meeting with Prof. Ah-Hyung Park, Dean of the School of Engineering, UCLA. ITB delegations also invited a number of prestigious research facilities, namely Robotics Lab from UCLA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) owned by NASA-Caltech, a world renowned technology development facility, on Thursday (15/5/2025).

The visit continued to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to meet with Prof. David Tirrell, Provost Caltech, along with Prof. Morteza Gharib, Director of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT). The focus of the discussion revolved around a potential collaboration in frontier research, particularly in the engineering sector, advanced materials, and aerospace technologies.

In between the main agenda, Prof. Tatacipta and Prof. Lavi also established communication with the diaspora through a gathering with the ITB Alumni Association in the U.S. and a visit to the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Los Angeles on Friday (16/5/2025). The involvement of alumni in strengthening research networks and academic diplomacy is an important part of ITB’s internationalization strategy.

On Monday (19/5/2025), Prof. Tatacipta dan Prof. Lavi attended the “Southeast Asia Summit on Prosperity & Sustainability" at Stanford University. The event was joined by 400 pioneers from business, government, and educational institutions from Southeast Asia and the United States. Prof. Lavi became a speaker in the “Academic to Academic Collaboration” session which featured the importance of collaboration between higher education institutions to face global challenges through an interdisciplinary approach.

Further, on Wednesday (21/5/2025), Prof. Lavi met with the Vice Chancellor for Research University of California, Berkeley, Kathy Yelick. The meeting discussed the potential collaboration between ITB and UC Berkeley, specifically in collective research, innovation development, academic exchange programs, and other strategic partnerships.

As a continuation of the visit, on Tuesday (20/5/2025), Prof. Tatacipta traveled to Hong Kong to attend the Worldwide University Network meeting, Wednesday (21/5/2025) which specifically addressed the downstreaming of research outcomes—from basic research to the commercialization process. The topic aligned with ITB’s strategic vision to promote national research independence and bridging science with industrial needs. The activities continued with a bilateral meeting with Tsukuba University and a discussion with Prof. Tim Cheng, Vice-President for Research and Development at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and Prof. Hong K. LO, Dean of Engineering at HKUST on Friday (23/5/2025).

“We believe that excellent research must be accompanied by a strong downstreaming strategy. The international collaborations that we are building are not only aimed at expanding our network but also at paving the way for ITB’s research outcomes to make a tangible contribution, both nationally and globally,” emphasized Prof. Tatacipta.

Through synergy with strategic partners and the diaspora, ITB continues to strengthen its role as a leading research institution that contributes to addressing global challenges and building a future where Indonesia is sovereign in science and technology.

Translator: Nadya Fini Nabila (Management, 2023)