Indonesia Launches Trilateral Education Partnership with Canada and UAE

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia is advancing its education diplomacy by establishing a trilateral partnership with Canada’s McGill University and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), supported by an international grant program aimed at improving teacher quality and school leadership nationwide.

Speaking in Jakarta on Friday, February 6, 2026, Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu’ti said the collaboration is designed to accelerate the development of educators’ competencies, school leaders, and supporting education systems, ensuring that high-quality, inclusive, and sustainable education services reach more Indonesian children.

The initiative is backed by a transformative grant from the UAE, provided through the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation to McGill University, which established the UAE-Indonesia Future Leaders Program. 

According to the Minister, the program mobilizes cross-disciplinary expertise and academic scholarships to drive social change and respond to future needs in areas such as sustainability, engineering, healthcare, and teacher education.

“This trilateral partnership builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry and McGill University in Jakarta on December 1, 2025,” Minister Abdul Mu’ti explained, as quoted by Antara. 

The MoU provides a framework for cooperation covering leadership development, teacher education and professional training, curriculum innovation, assessment, research, monitoring and evaluation, as well as knowledge exchange and network building.

Through this collaboration, the ministry aims to promote structured, evidence-based professional development tailored to local realities, with a focus on strengthening literacy, numeracy, student well-being, and deep learning practices. 

“Improving teacher quality and school leadership is a high-impact, long-term investment. Qualified teachers and school leaders are the key leverage for sustainable education reform,” the Minister added.

The five-year program will emphasize strengthening teacher education and school leadership, including through McGill University’s International Leadership in Education and Administrative Development (ILEAD) program at its Faculty of Education. 

Beneficiaries will include education trainers, in-service teachers, school principals, and administrators, equipping them with leadership skills at the classroom, school, and governance levels. ***