Indonesia to Establish 'Republic University' for Future Leaders

The Indonesian government is moving forward with the establishment of the 'Universitas Republik Indonesia' (URI), a new educational institution aimed at cultivating future leaders. This university will integrate functions from existing primary, secondary, and higher education institutions, as well as parts of the National Institute of Public Administration (LAN), with the goal of nurturing next-generation leaders for government agencies and state-owned enterprises (BUMN). According to Donny Ermawan Taufanto, who has been appointed as the Governor of URI, President Joko Widodo has shown strong interest in developing human resources who will lead Indonesia in the future, and the establishment of URI is part of this initiative. Initially, 10 URI campuses are planned. "So, Mr. President is very concerned with human resources, especially for future leaders of Indonesia. Therefore, he desires educational institutions, both at the SD, SMP, SMA, university levels, and also within the government," explained URI Governor Donny Ermawan Taufanto at a press conference at the State Palace after his inauguration yesterday, Wednesday (July 23, 2026). He added, "He wants to consolidate and integrate several existing educational programs." Subsequently, 10 Universitas Republik Indonesia will be built. These will also be integrated with the National Institute of Public Administration (LAN). "All of this is related to education, development, and the preparation of human resources for the future, both for the government and for BUMN," he further stated. Donny explained that the URI faculty will consist of individuals from abroad, domestically, and lecturers from other universities. He mentioned that tuition at URI will be covered by scholarships. "Scholarships, all scholarships," he affirmed. According to the Deputy Minister of Defense, graduates of URI will receive degrees similar to those from other campuses, such as bachelor's and engineer degrees. So, what distinguishes it from other campuses? Donny stated that the majors offered at URI will be the same, but there will be an emphasis on learning managerial skills, national insight, patriotism, love for the homeland, and so forth. "If Lemhanas will carry out its own tasks related to national resilience, we will focus more on education in managerial skills, complemented by national insight, love for the homeland, patriotism, strong character, high integrity, honesty, and so on. So, these are the values that we will instill in the students at URI," he elaborated. Currently, the first batch of URI has already begun, with 399 new BUMN employees participating. These participants recently completed a long march along the Panglima Sudirman route. Donny explained that the participants received lessons on the values of struggle from Panglima Sudirman, who never gave up even when ill. "Actually, yesterday I was also with them participating in the long march along the Panglima Sudirman route in Wonosari, so I just returned this morning from Wonosari to attend this inauguration. So they have already carried out this activity." "One of the things we instill is the fighting spirit of Panglima Sudirman, who never surrendered even when sick and continued to fight. These are the values that we instill in these students," Donny continued. Donny explained that the integration of education for preparing human resources for government and BUMN was inspired by institutions owned by neighboring countries, including France's Institut National du Service Public (INSP). INSP is an educational institution dedicated to the recruitment, initial training, and continuous professional development of top-level executives and managers in France. INSP was formerly the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) and has produced presidents, prime ministers, and industry leaders in France. Source: Detik