The University of Melbourne, Australia and Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology have announced the latest addition to PRIME – a bilateral research partnership that will focus on addressing global challenges through engineering.

PRIME (Partnership in Research Indonesia and Melbourne) Engineering will commence in 2024 and bring together the University’s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology with leading Indonesian institutions, including the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, and the Institute of Technology Sepuluh Nopember (ITS).

PRIME Engineering will focus on technology implementation in Indonesia's planned new capital city, Nusantara, contributing to the realisation of the Indonesian National Research Priorities (PRN) for 2020-2024. This will include bioengineering and biomaterials, water resources, cleaner energy, and sustainable, smart, resilient and liveable cities.

Over four years, PRIME Engineering will foster joint publication writing, research product development, scientific events, and the development of post-doctoral and PhD student fellowships and programmes. 

PRIME, established in 2021, already incorporates two other major disciplines: health and social sciences.

PRIME Health, led by the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences in collaboration with Indonesian universities, addresses crucial aspects of primary healthcare, health systems, infectious diseases, and adolescent health.