Prabowo Calls British Universities Establish World-Class Campuses Indonesia

RRI.CO.ID, London - The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto invited leading universities in the UK to collaborate in establishing 10 new universities in Indonesia. The invitation was conveyed by the Head of State at the UK-Indonesia Education Roundtable forum held at Lancaster House, London on Tuesday, 20 January 2026.

"We want to invite them to collaborate later. They already have extensive collaborations with University of Indonesia, University of Gajah Mada, and many other universities. They also already have campuses in our country, in Singosari and Bandung, in the fields we need, digital and technology,” President Prabowo stated in his statement to the media crew after the event.

The President also said,“So we want to accelerate, we want to catch up, we must have the highest level of education, on par with the best in the world.”

Previously, in the introduction to the meeting, President Prabowo revealed that Indonesia currently faces a significant shortage of medical personnel, including doctors and dentists. The President noted that Indonesia still lacks approximately 140,000 doctors, while the number of graduates each year remains very limited.

"We only produce about 9,000 doctors each year. So, in a few more years, and by the time we reach 140,000 doctors, more and more doctors will be retiring. So, this is something we need to do with a strategic plan," President Prabowo conveyed.

To address these challenges, the President plans to build 10 new universities focused on medical, dental, pharmaceutical, and science and technology education. The President affirmed that these universities will be built to international standards and use English as the language of instruction.

"I want to use the British standard, which is the highest educational standard from the best universities in the UK," the President stated.

President Prabowo also said that the accepted students will be the best graduates and will receive full scholarships from the government. The students will undergo intensive English language training before starting their studies. The Indonesian government is also opening up opportunities for cooperation with the British Council, including the implementation of IELTS standards.

In addition to university development, President Prabowo also explained plans to build international standard teaching hospitals on each campus. This step is expected to improve the quality of national healthcare services while also reducing the spending of Indonesian citizens on medical treatment abroad.

"In my opinion, if we do that (build international standard teaching hospitals on every campus), we might be able to save USD6 billion each year, which money can be channelled to these universities and hospitals," said the President.

President Prabowo is also optimistic that all preparations can be completed so that these new universities will begin accepting students in 2028.