He announced his planned overseas visit during a meeting with rectors, deans, and professors from state and private universities across Indonesia at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday.
"Next week, the President will be visiting the UK, as informed by the president in today’s meeting,” Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Stella Christie informed at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday.
Stella, who was also present during the meeting with rectors, informed that she was directly involved in preparing Prabowo’s visit to the UK, particularly regarding exploring educational cooperation and other education-related agendas.
“I am also directly preparing with Russell Group Universities. Russell Group Universities is a group of 24 top universities in the UK. President Prabowo only wants to meet with the best ones. He will not be bringing any random foreign universities, only the top ones,” she said, while explaining one of the agenda items she has prepared for Prabowo’s schedule in the UK.
However, she has not yet revealed the exact date of Prabowo’s visit to the UK.
Information circulating among journalists indicates that Prabowo will then visit the UK and possibly other countries from January 18-25, 2026.
At the Presidential Palace on Thursday, the head of state spent approximately three hours gathering 1,200 professors, particularly those in the social and humanities fields, as well as deans, rectors, and university leaders for a discussion.
During the meeting, Prabowo delivered a briefing, including an announcement of an increase in the research funding ceiling for 2026 of Rp4 trillion (US$230 million), or approximately 50 percent of the initial Rp8 trillion ceiling (US$460.5 million).
This brings the total research funding ceiling for 2026 to Rp12 trillion (US$690 million).
Through this addition, universities are expected to prioritize research that supports the implementation of food self-sufficiency, energy self-sufficiency, industrialization, and downstreaming programs.
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Translator: Genta Tenri, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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