The Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (FTUI), once again demonstrates its commitment to cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit among postgraduate students. This year, FTUI introduced a flagship program titled “Elevate: Empowering Tomorrow’s Technosciencepreneurs”—a series of initiatives designed to enhance innovation skills while bridging the gap between academia and industry.
Running from July to August 2025, the program carries a bold mission: to help students and academics transform their research outcomes into real-world products that benefit society. Beyond theoretical knowledge, participants are encouraged to identify the commercial potential of their research, test prototypes in the field, and develop business strategies grounded in innovative design and an entrepreneurial mindset.
This year’s Elevate program was joined by 31 postgraduate students, comprising 22 participants from FTUI and 9 from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), Japan. This cross-university collaboration aims to broaden perspectives and open up opportunities for future joint research initiatives.
The program began with an online session themed “From Research to Real-World Impact” on July 16, 2025, followed by a prototype testing workshop led by Dr. Muhammad Sahlan and a market testing session with PT Elsewedy Electric Indonesia. Participants also presented their project ideas during the Mid-Term Presentation held on August 8, 2025.
In addition to online activities, offline workshops formed a crucial part of the Elevate program. FTUI hosted thematic sessions addressing topics such as transforming research into products, sustainable innovation in the energy and agriculture sectors, and emerging opportunities in food innovation. Distinguished speakers included Prof. Dr. Ir. Widodo Wahyu Purwanto, DEA, who discussed sustainable energy, Ade Idris, M.Sc., who spoke about technoscience entrepreneurship, as well as representatives from the ASEAN Centre for Energy.
Participants also had the opportunity to visit industrial facilities, including Elsewedy Electric Indonesia’s manufacturing plant in Cileungsi, Bogor, on August 19, 2025. Through this visit, students witnessed firsthand how research and technology are applied in the modern energy industry.
To motivate participants, FTUI prepared awards for the best-performing teams. The first-place team received a USD 200 voucher, the second-place team USD 150, and the third-place and best innovation categories each received USD 100.
The Elevate program builds upon the success of FTUI’s previous Start-Up Technopreneurship Camp, initially targeted at undergraduate students. Over the past three years, the camp has produced more than 23 startups and 28 technological prototypes across various fields. This success laid a strong foundation for Elevate to expand its impact at the postgraduate level.
With the support of academics, industry professionals, and international networks, FTUI hopes that Elevate will cultivate a new generation of research-based tech entrepreneurs ready to deliver real solutions to global challenges in energy, food, health, and future technologies.
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Public Communication Office
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia
