SURABAYA – France and Indonesia are turning recent commitments to strengthen scientific cooperation into concrete research partnerships, with a four-day Joint Workshop on Marine and Earth Sciences, taking place at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in Surabaya (East Java) from 5 to 8 October 2026.
Initiated by Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and co-organized by French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), French company specialized in naval defense design Naval Group, and ITS, with the support of the Embassy of France to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN-Institut français d’Indonésie (IFI), the program features joint research projects and scientific exchanges spanning marine sciences, geology, volcanology, atmospheric pollution and natural-hazard monitoring. The event is part of the France-Indonesia Year of Innovation 2026.
“This joint workshop reflects the strengthening of the partnership between France and Indonesia in the areas of education, research, and mobility. It follows the objectives set by President Emmanuel Macron and President Prabowo Subianto in the Paris Declaration on 28 May 2026. This joint workshop is particularly significant because it involves numerous partners, both French and Indonesian, from the public and private sectors, working all together on concrete projects of mutual interest and long-term value,” says H.E. Mr. Fabien Penone, Ambassador of France to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN.
The initiative builds on a series of agreements that have progressively strengthened the institutional foundations of France-Indonesia scientific partnership.
It follows the Memorandum of Understanding on Research and Innovation Cooperation between BRIN and CNRS, signed in July 2024, which set up a general framework for scientific cooperation between the two institutions, covering joint research activities, scientific mobility, scholarship support, and joint organization of conferences, seminars, and workshops.
It also draws on the Letter of Intent signed by BRIN, CNRS, IRD and Naval Group on 28 May 2025 during President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Indonesia. The Letter of Intent commits the four partners to develop a common roadmap on science, technology and innovation in the maritime domain. This week’s workshop is a first concrete step in this direction as it brings together dozens of French and Indonesian researchers around joint projects and scientific sessions.
This scientific cooperation is part of a broader strengthening of the France-Indonesia maritime partnership. The Third France-Indonesia Bilateral Maritime Dialogue, held in Bali on 27-28 October 2025, brought together governmental, diplomatic and scientific representatives to advance cooperation on ocean governance, maritime sustainability and scientific cooperation.
The momentum was further reinforced through the Joint Strategy on Education, Research, and Mobility (Paris Declaration), adopted by President Emmanuel Macron and President Prabowo Subianto, on 28 May 2026, during the President of the Republic of Indonesia’s state visit to France.
During the 14th Joint Working Group on Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship held in Angers, on 9 July 2026, France and Indonesia’s Ministers of Higher Education adopted a roadmap for bilateral scientific cooperation.
The Surabaya workshop provides a concrete illustration of this growing commitment: institutional agreements and bilateral dialogue are now being translated into exchanges between researchers, joint projects and collaboration around scientific infrastructure and expertise.
“The momentum generated by recent high-level visits and statements gives new impetus to France-Indonesia scientific cooperation in the maritime domain. Building on 50 years of scientific cooperation with Indonesia, IRD is committed to turning this shared ambition into innovative research partnerships drawing on complementary expertise to better understand rapidly changing marine environments, place societies at the heart of solutions, and support the sustainable management of marine resources,” says Adèle Martial-Gros, Representative of IRD in Indonesia and for Timor-Leste.
From agreements to concrete research projects
On 5 October, 19 presentations of French Indonesian collaborative research projects will be showcased, involving researchers from BRIN, ITS, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), and other Indonesian institutions, alongside French partners including CNRS, IRD, IMT Atlantique and Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France (UPHF).
The proposed projects address a wide range of shared scientific challenges, from marine biodiversity and geology to sustainable transport, air pollution, spatial planning, earthquake and tsunami monitoring, and ocean dynamics. Among them are collaborations between French and Indonesian universities on maritime technologies and transport, including the effects of surface aging and biofouling on the hydrodynamic performance of ships and submarines, as well as research conducted by IRD and CNRS with BRIN on atmospheric pollution, marine sciences and natural hazards.
“Through this joint workshop, we hope that research collaboration between Indonesia and France in marine and earth sciences will be followed up with concrete joint research activities. BRIN stands ready to support the research collaborations that emerge from this four-day workshop,” says Agus Haryono, Deputy Chairman for Facilitation of Research and Innovation, BRIN
The scientific sessions continue 6 and 7 October with dedicated sessions on geological sciences and volcanology, atmospheric pollution, oceanology and deep-sea sciences. Presentations will cover real-time estimates of magma flux from GNSS data to anticipate eruptions, distributed acoustic sensing for monitoring geological hazards, and magma processes at Mount Merapi.
The atmospheric pollution session will address air quality modeling for Southeast Asia and emissions from forest and biomass fires. The oceanology session will include marine magnetics to study Indonesia’s subduction zones and seafloor mineral potential, and the Argo float network for ocean monitoring.
“Following the Joint Strategy on Education, Research, and Mobility, this workshop will highlight the excellence of our two scientific communities and help to define future areas of cooperation. CNRS, together with BRIN and other Indonesian partners, will continue to provide tools and spaces to facilitate exchanges between our researchers and enable them to carry out high-level research in areas of shared interest. We are convinced that this event marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration in marine and earth sciences,” says Professor Dominique Baillargeat, Director of the CNRS Representative Office for Southeast Asia.
Beyond the scientific sessions, the workshop also creates opportunities to connect research with Indonesia’s maritime and technological ecosystem. Participants will visit the PT PAL shipyards on 6 October, followed by visits to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) and meetings with BMKG and French company CLS teams on 8 October. The program will conclude with visits to the BRIN KST Surabaya hydrodynamics laboratory and the ITS Marine Science Technopark, providing opportunities for researchers to explore scientific infrastructure and potential future collaborations.
The workshop reflects the increasingly multi-institutional and multidisciplinary nature of FranceIndonesia cooperation in science and innovation, connecting national research institutions, universities, public agencies, and industry around shared scientific challenges. By bringing together existing projects and identifying new avenues for collaboration, the event contributes to turning the commitments made at the political and institutional level into long-term partnerships between researchers and research institutions in both countries./
