Bali, 24 September 2026 — SEAMEO Regional Centre for Tropical Biology (SEAMEO BIOTROP) expanded its national partnership network through the signing of Memoranda of Agreement (MoA) with Universitas Hasanuddin, Universitas Timor, and Politeknik Negeri Lampung. The signing ceremony took place during the opening session of the 64th Governing Board Meeting (GBM) of SEAMEO BIOTROP at Aston Kuta Hotel & Residence, Bali, on Thursday (24/9).

This strategic partnership was established to strengthen synergy between SEAMEO BIOTROP and higher education institutions in supporting collaborative research, vocational and academic education, capacity-building programmes, technological innovation, and sustainable tropical biodiversity management. The signing procession was witnessed by SEAMEO BIOTROP Governing Board members representing 11 countries across Southeast Asia.

Director of SEAMEO BIOTROP, Prof. Edi Santosa, stated that partnerships with higher education institutions play a crucial role in expanding the reach and impact of the Centre's mandate. Through this collaboration, BIOTROP is committed to fostering knowledge transfer, joint research, and innovation downstreaming that deliver tangible benefits to the community as well as ecosystem conservation.

This initiative was also supported by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. Ir. Suharti, who attended the opening session. She emphasized that strengthening cross-institutional research and education partnerships serves as a vital foundation in generating innovative solutions to address environmental challenges in Indonesia and the region.

Through the signing of these MoAs, SEAMEO BIOTROP hopes that the implementation of collaborative programmes with Universitas Hasanuddin, Universitas Timor, and Politeknik Negeri Lampung can be realized concretely, particularly in scientific expertise exchange, joint publications, and human resource capacity enhancement in tropical biology.

MDM