If the knowledge we have is not used the way it should be, it will go in vain."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla encouraged the countrys engineers to continue on the path of innovation in order to develop the science sector in Indonesia.
"If engineers do not innovate, there would not be any invention. Innovation reflects the advanced level a nation has reached," Vice President Kalla stated here on Friday.
The Vice Presidents remarks came at the opening ceremony of the 20th Congress of the Indonesian Engineers Association (PII).
He said engineers have an important role in bringing about a lot of improvements in science. Three of the seven Indonesian Presidents have been engineers, namely, Soekarno, B.J. Habibie, and Joko Widodo (Jokowi), Vice President Kalla said.
Moreover, he noted, engineers must pursue innovation because science is rapidly developing.
"If the knowledge we have is not used the way it should be, it will go in vain," he added.
Vice President Kalla estimated that currently, the ratio of engineers in Indonesia is 1:10,000, or one engineer for 10,000 people. In case of Malaysia, the same ratio is 1:3,000, and for Singapore 1:1,000.
In addition, only 45 percent engineers are working in the field in which they equipped themselves with education, the rest are still unemployed, he stated.
(Reported by Desi Purnamawati/Uu.R029/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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