Challenges in International Technology Trasfer: The Experience of Center for Innovation in Indonesia

Abstract

The potential from Indonesia’s rich biodiversity can be used to foster the development of science and technology. This advantage has become a lure for foreign companies and institutions to build cooperation that leads to technology transfer. One of the leading technology transfer office (TTO) in Indonesia, the Center for Innovation (Pusat Inovasi - Pusinov) of LIPI has recorded four cooperation agreements with foreign companies or agencies in the past two years (2014-2015). However, in any agreements, there is always a possibility of imbalance with regards to the benefits of technology transfer of respective sides. Hence, this article is aimed at reviewing the contribution of each party using a descriptive

qualitative method. The data for this article were collected through desk review. The results suggest that the role of Pusinov is still limited in the four agreements. One reason for this is that the technology is sourced from the foreign party. Nevertheless, Pusinov still benefits from the agreements in the form of increased capacity of its human resources. It is recommended that better planning is needed for Pusinov to reap higher benefits from foreign technology transfer.