LAST year, to operate its research programs in a number of campuses, the Directorate General of Higher Education had a budget of Rp150 billion. This year, the funds were tripled to Rp500 billion, the aim of which is to motivate more research activities, both in and outside institutions of higher education in Indonesia.

The reason for the increase in funding is clear. Research in Indonesian universities can be said to be dismal. According to 200