Only 20% of Indonesia’s more than 30,000 doctorate degree holders obtained their PhD studying the natural sciences; a figure that trails far behind China and India at 60% out of 800,000 and 650,000, respectively. To address this imbalance and tackle some of the most prominent roadblocks to the pursuit of studying life sciences in Indonesia, namely the lack of facilities and financial incentives, Surya University has prioritised the development of a Life Science Faculty. This department is tasked with not only presenting Indonesia’s brightest minds with the opportunity to study the core fields of biology and chemistry, but to also offer programs that push the very limits of scientific understanding and contribute to the accumulation of human knowledge. As such, Surya University’s Life Science Faculty focuses on three different courses of study, each with a significant role to play in Indonesia and further afield: Biotechnology & Neuroscience, Human Computer Interaction, and Nutrition & Food Technology.

Supporting these programs are Surya University’s twelve research centres dedicated to topics in the life sciences; a list that includes the Brain & Circulation Institute of Indonesia (BCII), the Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research (CMBR), the Comprehensive Herbal Medicine Institute (CHMI) and the Centre for Functional Food, among others. The joint initiatives of these research centres and the Life Science Faculty – aided by collaboration with scholars based in international educational institutions such as the University of Rhode Island, the University of Arizona, UC Irvine and the Keio University School of Medicine – now positions Surya University to take the next step in becoming a regional hub for breakthroughs in the life sciences.