Jakarta – On June 19, 2025, the Indonesian Business Council (IBC) met with Prof. Stella Christie, the Vice Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, along with other representatives from the Ministry. The discussion firstly covered the expansion of Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) deployment abroad, particularly nurses and caregivers, to not only unlock remittances but also to provide a ladder for socio-economic mobility. Secondly, the meeting discussed the promotion of technology transfer offices as a governance mechanism between industry and researchers. The aim of the offices is to provide industry with greater certainty regarding research outcomes while ensuring that researchers’ intellectual property rights are protected. IBC and the Ministry also identified opportunities for collaboration through the Impactful Internship program (Magang Berdampak), as well as further possibilities to improve the quality of Indonesian lecturers expanding access to doctoral-level education (PhD).
“PMI (Indonesian Migrant Workers) in nursing and caregiving represent a very significant low-hanging fruit,” said Prof. Stella Christie, referring to Indonesia’s strong potential to expand overseas labor deployment. William Sabandar, Chief Operating Officer of IBC, affirmed IBC’s ability to support the PMI industry, saying “IBC is ready to provide policy dialogue and technical support to ensure the development and acceleration of the migrant workers industry to contribute to the welfare and growth of the nation.” Together, IBC and the ministry hope that marrying strategic placement that will fatten Indonesia’s remittance pipeline and, in time, move its labour force higher up the global value chain.