SDGS 9 UNIVERSITAS JEMBER 2025
UNEJ Colloquium 2025: Research Grants Lay the Groundwork for 13 Spin-offs and IDR 19.38 Billion in Industry Research Income
Jember – Universitas Jember (UNEJ) held the UNEJ Showcase and Colloquium 2025 on 19–20 November 2025 at the Universitas Jember Auditorium. The Colloquium gave lecturers and researchers who received 2025 research grants a forum to present their research outputs and community service results to their peers. Beyond serving as an exercise in academic accountability, the forum highlighted how the university's research grants are nurturing an innovation ecosystem that has produced 13 university spin-off companies and IDR 19,382,804,325 in research income from industry and commerce.
The Colloquium as a Forum for Grant Accountability
Bevo Wahono, Secretary 1 of the Institute for Research and Community Service (LP2M) at Universitas Jember, described the Showcase and the Colloquium as “two sides of the same coin that complement each other.” The Showcase introduced campus life to senior high school, vocational school, and madrasah aliyah students from the Tapal Kuda region. The Colloquium, meanwhile, brought grant recipients together to account for their research results and to discuss real community problems across disciplines.
At the Colloquium, each grant recipient demonstrated how far their research had produced usable outputs, including publications, products, prototypes, and community service models. This process is the first step before research findings are developed into commercial products or campus-based start-ups.
From Research Grants to 13 University Spin-offs
As of 2025, UNEJ has recorded 13 university spin-off companies. A spin-off is a business that grows out of the research and intellectual property of the academic community. These 13 spin-offs show that the grant-funded research presented at the Colloquium does not end with a final report. Some of these research results have moved into the downstreaming stage and now create economic value for society.
This spirit of downstreaming was also visible at the Showcase exhibition. One example was Kombucha Cascara, a beverage developed by a postgraduate Biotechnology student, which visiting students could taste on the spot. Products like this illustrate the path that campus research takes: from the laboratory, to the Colloquium presentation room, and finally into consumers' hands.
Industry Research Income Reaches IDR 19.38 Billion
Industry's confidence in UNEJ research is reflected in the research income the university receives from industry and commerce. This income totals IDR 19,382,804,325. The STEM field contributes the largest share, at IDR 9,960,891,400 or about 51.4 percent of the total. Medicine ranks second with IDR 5,429,676,770, or about 28.0 percent. Arts and Humanities and the Social Sciences contribute IDR 3,992,236,155, or about 20.6 percent.
This distribution shows that research partnerships with industry do not rely solely on engineering and the natural sciences. The social sciences and humanities also have industry partners that make use of their research findings.
Linking Grants, the Colloquium, and the Innovation Ecosystem
Research grants, the Colloquium, spin-offs, and industry funding form a cycle that reinforces itself. Internal grants give lecturers the seed funding they need to test their ideas. The Colloquium then screens and showcases the research results that are most ready for further development. Mature research results attract industry partners, either through research contracts or through the creation of spin-off companies. In turn, industry income expands the university's research capacity for the following year.
Through this cycle, the UNEJ Colloquium 2025 plays a role that goes beyond an annual reporting event. It serves as a hub that connects campus research with the needs of society and the business world. UNEJ hopes to keep strengthening forums of this kind so that more research results grow into innovation-based products, services, and businesses.
A Showcase for Prospective Students
The Showcase brought all faculties together in one venue. The booths of the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Agricultural Technology, the Faculty of Nursing, the Faculty of Computer Science, and the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) were among the busiest. Students took part in teaching-aid demonstrations, technology-based simulations, product exhibitions, and educational mini games. The programme also featured a talk show with the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), and Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on the theme “Synergy of Financial Literacy and Digital Innovation: Smart Finances, a Strong Nation.”
REFRENCE:
Showcase dan Kolokium UNEJ 2025 Tampilkan Inovasi Prodi, Booth Interaktif, dan Antusiasme Ratusan Siswa – unej.ac.id