From Zero to ISM — A First-Timer’s Guide to Joining the BINUS Industry Matchmaking Ecosystem

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The question most BINUS lecturers who haven’t engaged with industry are actually asking is not “should I do this?” — most already know they should. The real question is: “where exactly do I start, and what does that first step actually look like?” This guide is for lecturers who have research output but have never formally engaged with BINUS RTT’s industry matchmaking infrastructure. It is not a pitch for why industry partnership matters. It is a concrete sequence of five moves that gets you from zero to your first active ISM engagement.

The first move is an honest assessment of where your research currently stands. You do not need a finished product to enter the ISM ecosystem — but you do need to know your TKT (Tingkat Kesiapterapan Teknologi), or Technology Readiness Level. TKT runs from 1 to 9, from basic observation to fully deployed commercial system. If your work produces findings, models, or preliminary tools that could be described to a non-specialist, you are likely at TKT 3 or above — and that is enough to enter. If you have a working prototype, you are at TKT 5 or higher and are already in the zone where Technology Push and PPHK training become relevant. Knowing your TKT is not bureaucratic — it determines which ISM track fits you and how you should describe your work to an industry audience.

The second move is to register your research output on BRIDGE Apps. BRIDGE is BINUS RTT’s internal platform for product and research registration. It is the primary database through which RTT matches researcher supply with industry demand, and it is where industry partners browse when they are looking for a BINUS team to solve a specific problem. If your research is not on BRIDGE, it does not exist in the eyes of the matchmaking engine. Registration is self-directed: you describe your research area, current TKT, target application domain, and available outputs (publications, prototypes, data, methodologies). It takes roughly an hour if you have your research description and outputs documented already — which, if you have submitted to SINTA-indexed journals or applied for any internal grant, you already do.

The third move is to monitor BRIDGE: Opportunities — the section of the platform where industry-submitted RfPs (Requests for Proposal) are listed. This is the Bank of Industry Problems: real challenges from real companies that BINUS RTT has received and is actively looking to match. Spend twenty minutes reading the current listings. You are looking for one of two things — a problem that directly maps to your research domain, or a problem that your research partially addresses and could address more fully with a small pivot. If you find one, the process of responding starts with an email to tech.transfer@binus.edu flagging your interest and your research’s relevance. RTT handles the introduction and the structuring of what comes next.

The fourth move — which runs in parallel and does not require a specific RfP match first — is to attend an ISM Day. These are BINUS RTT’s structured matchmaking sessions where researchers and industry representatives meet in facilitated formats specifically designed for first introductions. You do not need a polished pitch deck. You need to be able to describe your research, its current stage, and the type of problem you could help solve in under three minutes. If you have your BRIDGE registration completed before attending, RTT staff can help position you with specific industry contacts at the event.

The fifth move, which becomes available once you have had at least one substantive industry conversation, is a consultation with RTT to discuss which formal engagement structure makes sense — whether that is an RfP response, a PKS (cooperation agreement), a joint research project, or an introduction to the PPHK training program if commercialization readiness is still a step away. This is where RTT’s role shifts from platform to advisor, and it is a conversation that most lecturers wish they had started earlier.

None of these steps require institutional authority, a grant, or existing industry contacts. They require a research output you believe is useful, thirty minutes on BRIDGE, and one email. That is the actual threshold. For everything that comes after that first move, BINUS RTT’s Industry Partnership & Solution Matching page maps the full ecosystem.

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