Indonesia’s first foreign university unveiled

His Excellency Mr Nadiem Makarim, Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of Indonesia, has today inaugurated the country’s first foreign university, based in BSD City, Southwest of Jakarta.

The first student cohort commenced their studies at Monash University, Indonesia in 2021, starting in the future focused fields of Data Science, Business Innovation, Urban Design and Public Policy.

In 2022, the postgraduate campus will also welcome talented future leaders to two new programs – Master of Public Health and Master of Cyber Security – alongside its current offerings.

The enrolment of PhD students across all program areas will also begin this year. The campus also provides executive programs and micro-credentials in areas of high demand, and produces high-impact research.

In the first year of operation, Monash University, Indonesia has established strategic collaborations with industry, local universities and government, geared towards supporting Indonesia’s social, technological and economic development.

These partnerships include:

In partnership with Tokopedia, Monash is delivering high impact research collaboration on machine learning and demand forecasting.
In partnership with Traveloka, Monash is delivering training opportunities for Indonesian university lecturers striving to support Indonesia’s goal for reaching nine million digital talents by 2035.
Monash has partnered with Bank Mandiri to deliver advanced training for cohorts of emerging leaders in data science and business innovation.
Parallel to this, Monash is actively building partnerships with a range of Indonesian universities, starting in its home province of Banten where it has formed a dynamic collaboration with UNTIRTA, featuring joint research work on community development and eco-tourism.
Speaking from the campus today, Minister Makarim officially welcomed Monash University to Indonesia.

“I am delighted that Monash University’s Indonesia campus has opened wider opportunities for quality education, following its commencement in 2021 as the first foreign-owned university in Indonesia,” Mr Makarim said.

“Monash University, Indonesia will play an important role in our effort to develop a more relevant and resilient education system, as well as to ensure students could thrive in an ever-changing workforce. Monash University, Indonesia is a future-proof platform where vital new connections will be formed, new ideas and research pioneered, and future leaders are born.”

Monash University President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner AC, said Monash plays an active role in Indonesia’s higher education ecosystem.

“The establishment of Monash University, Indonesia is the realisation of Your Excellency President Widodo’s speech to the Australian Parliament in 2020. I am delighted that two years on, and in a pandemic, we are here today, in person, to officially open the campus,” Professor Gardner said.

“I sincerely thank President Widodo and the Indonesian Government for their continued support. Monash’s Indonesia campus is on its way to demonstrating the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration for the future of Indonesia’s higher education sector, and making a contribution to Indonesia’s social, economic and technological growth. I look forward to a future in which the growth of this campus deepens the connection between our two countries.”

Her Excellency Ms Penny Williams, Australian Ambassador to Indonesia said:

“I’m thrilled to see a world-class Australian university such as Monash officially open a campus in Indonesia, bringing new opportunities for high impact research and expanded academic offerings,” Ambassador Williams said.

“As the first foreign university to set up in Indonesia, Monash is paving the way in forging stronger education and people-to-people ties with Indonesia.”