Bappidsus Pushes for Indonesian Universities to Enter World's Top 100

The Special Development Control and Investigation Agency (Bappidsus) is encouraging higher education institutions in Indonesia to improve governance in order to break into the list of the world’s top 100 universities. Head of Bappidsus Aris Marsudiyanto stated in Jakarta on Wednesday that this target was one of the topics discussed during an audience with the Council of Rectors of Indonesian State Universities (MRPTNI), which was attended by 19 state university rectors. According to him, Indonesian higher education institutions are expected to be able to penetrate the top 100, or at least the top 150, best universities in the world. Aris noted that improving the quality of higher education must be built through strengthening five aspects of intelligence: intelligence quotient (IQ), emotional quotient (EQ), spiritual quotient (SQ), creativity quotient (CQ), and adversity quotient (AQ). He said that university graduates need more than just intellectual intelligence; they also require character, the ability to manage emotions, creativity, and resilience in facing global challenges. He added that this improvement in human resource quality is expected to boost the international competitiveness of Indonesian higher education institutions. Aris said that through the discussion forum, Bappidsus and MRPTNI also explored platforms, methodologies, and systems that can be implemented to improve the quality of higher education in Indonesia. He expressed hope that the results of the discussion can be synergised with government policy to become a formula for improving the quality of education at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. MRPTNI Chairman Prof. Eduart Wolok stated that his party is ready to collaborate with Bappidsus and relevant ministries to support government programmes in improving the quality of higher education and strengthening the contribution of universities to national development. Previously, three Indonesian universities—Universitas Indonesia (UI), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), and IPB University—entered the top 100 of the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2020. This ranking measures the contribution of higher education institutions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), rather than an overall ranking of the world’s best universities.