On Tuesday 20 January, the University of Liverpool’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Jones, joined a delegation of UK higher education leaders in London for a roundtable meeting with His Excellency Prabowo Subianto, President of the Republic of Indonesia.
The meeting brought together Vice-Chancellors from across the Russell Group and formed part of the President’s official visit to the UK, which also included engagements at Downing Street. The roundtable was hosted by Sir Steve Smith, the UK International Education Champion, alongside Scott McDonald, Chief Executive of the British Council. Seema Malhotra, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, was in attendance.
Discussions focused on strengthening education links between the UK and Indonesia, with President Subianto outlining his vision for the future of higher education in Indonesia. The wide-ranging conversation explored opportunities for transnational education (TNE), collaborative research, engagement on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and talent development.
Professor Tim Jones said: “I was honoured to meet His Excellency Prabowo Subianto to discuss how we can work together to deepen collaboration with Indonesia across education, research and skills development.
“Developing and growing our international partnerships and transnational education activity is at the heart of institutional strategy, Liverpool 2031 and I look forward to seeing how we take forward some of the ideas discussed over the coming months and years.”
Professor Tariq Ali, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement and Partnerships, also attended the meeting. Professor Ali last met with President Subianto in May, where the creation of a university consortium — with the University of Liverpool as a founding member — was explored.
The roundtable took place during the same week as the publication of the UK Government’s International Education Strategy 2026, which sets out plans to place education at the heart of the UK’s global engagement. The strategy recognises the vital role of international partnerships in delivering shared prosperity, innovation and global impact.
Both UK and Indonesian leaders welcomed the strong and growing education links between the two countries, highlighting the significant potential for future collaboration in priority areas aligned with global challenges.