JAKARTA (Bernama): Malaysia sees significant opportunities to strengthen cooperation with Indonesia in the higher education sector as the country intensifies efforts to increase the capacity of PhD-qualified academic personnel under the National Transformation towards a Golden Indonesia 2045 agenda.
Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) Secretary-General Datuk Dr Aminuddin Hassim said the cooperation could include student mobility, joint supervision and research, dual-degree programmes, and networks among young researchers from universities in both countries.
"Malaysia takes note that Indonesia’s current higher education agenda supports the National Transformation towards a Golden Indonesia 2045 by placing emphasis on increasing the number of PhD-qualified academic personnel.
"It is understood that around one-quarter of lecturers in Indonesia currently hold PhDs, with the target of increasing this to about one-third by 2029. Malaysia sees significant opportunities to strengthen cooperation with Indonesia in postgraduate and PhD studies,” he said in his speech at the launch of the "Mega Ayo Kuliah di Malaysia 2026” programme here on Saturday.
The programme, organised by Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) and MOHE, was held at Hotel Kempinski here and brought together 28 Malaysian higher education institutions to promote opportunities for further studies in Malaysia.
Also present were Chargé d’Affaires of the Malaysian Embassy in Indonesia Farzamie Sarkawi and EMGS Chief Executive Officer Novie Tajuddin.
Aminuddin said Malaysia-Indonesia higher education ties continued to grow, with the number of Indonesian students enrolled in Malaysia exceeding 12,000 in 2025, making Indonesia the second-largest source of international students in Malaysia.
According to EMGS data, the figure increased from 9,695 students in 2024.
Aminuddin said the development provided a strong foundation for Malaysia and Indonesia to be viewed not only as partners in student mobility but also as partners in talent development at the regional level.
He said higher education was no longer merely about producing graduates but had become a strategic instrument to strengthen the economy, develop technology and prepare the younger generation to face global changes.
He said Malaysia’s aspirations, which emphasise impactful research, university-industry collaboration and the commercialisation of innovation, were aligned with Indonesia’s research agenda in strategic fields including food security, energy, healthcare, maritime affairs, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.
He said Malaysia believed that the future of higher education in the region must be built together, as both countries play important roles as catalysts for a more open, inclusive and competitive ASEAN higher education ecosystem. -- Bernama
