The handover of the cooperation was done in the CRCS ITB Building, on Tuesday 1 November 2022 through the Machine Tools Industry Development Center Opening Ceremony event. The Rector of ITB, Prof. Reini Wirahadikusumah, Ph.D., together with the Dean of FMAE, Prof. Dr. Ir. Tatacipta Dirgantara attended the event.

In her opening remark, the Rector of ITB expressed her utmost gratitude to the Korea Institute of Advancement of Technology (KIAT) and CAMTIC Advanced Mechatronics Technology Institute for Commercialization for their cooperation in helping Indonesia to develop and produce machine tools domestically. The cooperation has provided grants in the form of equipment and training which were valued to be more than 70 billion IDR.

"The equipment and training will be very beneficial in improving lecturer, researcher, student, and our national industry capability in developing and producing machine tools. Learning from the developed nations, their manufacturing industry capability all started with the development of a machine tool which is the mother of all machines," said Prof. Reini.

In addition to that, she also expressed her utmost appreciation to the Machine Tools Industry Development Center team from FMAE who has supported the continuity and success of this cooperation. The development of the national machine tool industry is a huge endeavor and responsibility, in accordance with the pioneering spirit that has always been upheld by the FMAE-ITB colleagues.

"The success of this program is expected to bring benefits for both of the parties: The Republic of Indonesia and The Republic of South Korea. I hope that this will not be the end of our cooperation, this will only mark the beginning of future partnership between ITB and KIAT, CAMTIC, and the Republic of Indonesia, and the Republic of South Korea," she said.

MTIDC is a huge project from both the Indonesian and South Korean parties. This is a center for the development of industry-specialized machine tools which is located on the west side of the ITB Ganesha Campus. This project is a cooperation project that involves the Ministry of Industry and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology.

This program is located at the Machine Tools Industry and Technology Development Center in the Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. This program aims to improve and develop the industrial capacity of machine tools in Indonesia and also develop its human resources and improve bilateral relations through academic means.

The implementations of this program include improving the organization and managerial of CDRI, providing grants and equipment needed to develop machine tools, capacity improvement training, education, and consultation. The assembly and joint development of machine tools and encouraging local industry to manufacture machine tool components.

The Directorate General of Metal Industry, Machine, Transportation Equipment, and Electronics in the Ministry of Industry, Taufiek Bawazier, conveyed that the role of machine tools will be very important in the future because we used to import components. The help of ITB and other universities in Indonesia with the support of South Korea can strengthen the national industry because it will bring a positive impact on the national economy.

Through this cooperation, he hopes that in the future the machine tools that are produced domestically can fill the need for machine tools in Indonesia. For this, he expressed his utmost appreciation for this cooperation.

The Machine Tools Industry Development Center (MTIDC) is a form of bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea to develop the machine tools industry in Indonesia. In this cooperation, the Republic of South Korea Government provided grants amounting to 70 billion IDR in the form of machines that are needed to develop machine tools. Those machines were sent directly from South Korea and were stored in the Center for Industrial Technology Development (PPTI-ITB) building. The grant that was provided by the Republic of South Korean Government for Indonesia was based on strong friendship relations.

This MTIDC project is a cooperation between the Directorate General of Metal, Machine, Transportation Equipment, and Electronics Industry from the Ministry of Industry and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT). The MTIDC project is an implementation of the Machine Tool Industrial Technology Development Center (PPTI-MP) project between the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenperin RI) together with the Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (FMAE ITB).

Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)