The Rector of Universitas Indonesia (UI), Prof. Dr. Ir. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU, delivered a keynote speech at the 2025 World University Presidents’ Forum (WUPF) on Saturday (8/11) in China.
The forum, attended by university presidents and rectors from around the world, was officially opened by Ren Youqun, Vice Minister of Education of China, and also attended by leaders of international organizations concerned with global education, including UNESCO and the World Bank.
In his address titled “Navigating the Age of Intelligence: Universitas Indonesia’s Path Toward Human-Centred, Ethical and Responsible AI in Higher Education,” Prof. Heri highlighted UI’s progress in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) while maintaining strong academic ethics and responsibility.
“We utilize artificial intelligence in teaching, research, and in verifying academic integrity in students’ scientific work. In addition, UI is actively developing new AI models for educational purposes, student selection, health monitoring systems, and even for technologies that foster the growth of new startup industries within UI,” Prof. Heri explained.
Prof. Heri’s participation in WUPF marked the conclusion of his visit to China. Over the course of seven days, UI established strategic partnerships with seven universities and one major industry partner. Several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and Letters of Intent (LoIs) were signed with top-ranked Chinese universities, including Peking University (ranked 14th globally), Tsinghua University (17th), Shanghai Jiaotong University (47th), Zhejiang University (49th), and Tongji University (177th).
At the same time, Prof. Heri also assigned several deans to strengthen collaboration with China Foreign Affairs University (a specialized institution for training foreign diplomats), Tianjin University (renowned in engineering), and Fudan University (strong in social sciences and humanities).
One of the key outcomes of these collaborations is the formation of a “golden triangle” for technological development through the establishment of a smelter laboratory at UI. Under this partnership, UI will provide the land and building, Tsinghua University will offer expert consultancy, and the Huayou Group will construct the infrastructure and supply the necessary equipment. This collaboration aims to train Indonesian experts for technology transfer in downstream mining industries and to support Indonesia in building a self-sustained battery development ecosystem.
