Universitas Gadjah Mada

Universitas Gadjah Mada – Hilirisasi Compact Building Energy Management System

Business Process IntegrationDigital Transformation

Executive Summary

Fakultas Teknik Universitas Gadjah Mada and Kulkul entered a multi‑year collaboration to accelerate the downstreaming of an innovative Compact Building Energy Management System (BEMS) with an AI‑based smart controller, under a university–industry partnership scheme.

The partnership is part of the 2025 Program Hilirisasi Riset Prioritas funded by the Directorate General of Research and Development, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, with UGM as the lead institution and Kulkul as the industry partner.

Business Context

Through letter No. 0572/C4/AL.04/2025 dated 9 September 2025, the Directorate General of Research and Development announced funding for the Program Hilirisasi Riset Prioritas for the 2025 fiscal year.

Under this programme, Universitas Gadjah Mada (lead researcher: Prof. Faridah, NIDN 0014027603) and PT Kulkul Teknologi Internasional were selected for the project “Hilirisasi Inovasi Compact Building Energy Management System dengan Smart Controller Berbasis Artificial Intelligence” in the Hilirisasi Inovasi Komersial scheme.

The Challenge

From Prototype to Usable Solution

Research outputs in building energy management often remain at the prototype stage, making it difficult for them to be adopted by building owners or facility managers. The Compact BEMS initiative needed support to translate technical innovation into a solution that is easier to implement, operate, and maintain in real buildings.

Aligning Innovation with Market Needs

For the Compact BEMS to gain traction, the solution must fit the operational realities, constraints, and investment logic of potential users, not just meet academic metrics. This required a partner who could provide insights from digital product work and software projects, and help frame the innovation in terms of value, usability, and scalability.

The overarching challenge was to ensure that UGM’s Compact BEMS with AI‑based smart controller did not stop at a technical proof‑of‑concept but could progress toward a form that is attractive, understandable, and adoptable by industry stakeholders.

At the same time, the collaboration needed to align with the objectives and requirements of the national Hilirisasi Riset Prioritas – Hilirisasi Inovasi Komersia scheme, including IP, funding, and reporting aspects.

Our Approach

UGM and Kulkul established a structured collaboration where the university led the core research and technology innovation, while Kulkul contributed as an industry partner on aspects related to implementation, product thinking, and potential market fit.

The partnership is designed to be iterative and adaptive, allowing both sides to refine activities over time as the Compact BEMS innovation matures and moves closer to real‑world pilots and deployment.

The Solution

Within this collaboration, Kulkul supports UGM by bringing in experience from software development and digital product delivery—helping to think through system architecture, integration points, and user‑facing aspects of the Compact BEMS.

Kulkul also contributes to discussions around business models, licensing, and potential commercialization pathways, in line with the joint focus on downstreaming and utilisation of UGM’s intellectual property under the Hilirisasi Inovasi Komersia scheme.

Results & Impact

Recognised National Hilirisasi Project

Funded Priority Research Downstreaming

The UGM–Kulkul Compact BEMS project was formally listed as a funded recipient in the 2025 Program Hilirisasi Riset Prioritas, with UGM as the institution and PT Kulkul Teknologi Internasional as the industry partner for the commercialisation‑oriented downstreaming scheme. This recognition strengthens the legitimacy of the collaboration and supports multi‑year follow‑through on the innovation.

Stronger Link from Lab to Market

Productisation‑Oriented Collaboration

By incorporating industry perspectives on architecture, integration, and value propositions, the collaboration helps frame the Compact BEMS as a potential market‑ready solution rather than a purely academic prototype. This productisation mindset increases the chances that the innovation can move toward pilots, adoption, or licensing opportunities.

Foundation for Future Co‑Innovation

Platform for Energy & AI Solutions

The Compact BEMS project sets a precedent for how UGM and Kulkul can work together on other energy, IoT, or AI‑enabled solutions, using a similar model of shared innovation, IP, and industry engagement. Over time, this platform can evolve into a broader collaboration portfolio that supports both UGM’s research mission and Kulkul’s role in delivering impactful technology in the field.

Align Research with Commercial Pathways Early

This collaboration shows that aligning research projects with commercial pathways—through schemes like Hilirisasi Inovasi Komersia and explicit industry partnerships—helps guide decisions about architecture, usability, and business models from an early stage.

When universities and industry partners work together under a clear downstreaming framework, innovations like Compact BEMS have a better chance of moving beyond prototypes and creating real‑world impact.

Project Data

TIMELINE

2 Years

SERVICES

Industry input on system design and technology implementation for compact BEMS solutions
Collaboration on productisation, business model exploration, and potential commercialization paths
Support for prototype development, testing, and refinement aligned with real‑world use cases
Contribution of software engineering and platform integration expertise as needed
Participation as an industry partner in national downstreaming and university–industry collaboration schemes