Indonesia Establishes 'University of the Republic' to Cultivate Future Leaders, Former Air Force Chief Appointed Governor

President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated the Governor and Vice Governor of the University of the Republic of Indonesia (URI) at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Air Marshal TNI (Ret.) Donny Ermawan was appointed as the Governor of URI. Donny Ermawan explained that URI is being prepared to produce future national leaders by adopting the model of leadership education institutions implemented in several countries. This initiative is aimed at preparing human resources for government and state-owned enterprises (BUMN). Under the Governor of URI, there will be three institutions, also known as the National Education Management Body. These include a management body for superior schools, a management body for higher education institutions, and the State Administration Institute (LAN). The LAN, which currently focuses on civil servant (ASN) development, will have its duties and functions expanded to include the development of BUMN employees. URI will coordinate with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology for higher education management and with the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports for high school education. The educational duration will be similar to that of general university studies, while the high school program will be three years. The university campus will be built in Cikasungka, North Bogor, West Java, on a former palm oil plantation area managed by PTPN. Temporarily, URI will utilize two floors of an office in BUMN on Jalan Merdeka Selatan. Donny emphasized that URI differs from the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas). While Lemhannas focuses on national resilience, URI will concentrate more on developing managerial skills, national insight, love for the homeland, patriotism, and instilling high integrity and honesty among its students. This approach is likened to France's École nationale d'administration (ENA), now the Institut National du Service Public (INSP), which trains senior civil servants and government executives. URI has already conducted programs such as the President's Program for Future Leaders (P3MD), which has trained 399 new employees from BUMN. The university aims to integrate excellent high school graduates into higher education, leading them to careers in government or BUMN. Faculty for the high school level will be sourced domestically, while university-level lecturers will be from both Indonesia and abroad. Campus construction will be funded by the State Budget (APBN). Students will receive university degrees, and URI plans to collaborate with several leading overseas universities, with scholarship mechanisms currently under development. Source: Liputan6