UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) strengthen its global engagement through active participation in the Times Higher Education (THE) Africa Universities Summit 2026, held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi, Kenya on 30-31 March 2026. This summit brought together university leaders and higher education stakeholders from around the world to discuss strategic developments and foster international collaboration.
The UNAIR delegation was represented by Dr. Irfan Wahyudi, S.Sos., M.Comms., Ph.D. – Director of Airlangga Global Engagement (AGE) and Dr. David Segoh, S.S., M.Ed., Ph.D., – Faculty Ambassador of Faculty of Humanities (FIB) UNAIR. Their participation reflects the university’s commitment to enhancing global partnerships and strengthening its academic presence internationally. During the summit, the delegation actively engaged in strategic discussion and explored potential collaboration with several international institutions. Among the prospective partners were Tshwane University of Technology (South Africa), Daaru Salaam University (Somalia), Somaville University (Somalia), and University of Pretoria (South Africa). These engagements mark an important step in expanding Universitas Airlangga global academic network and identifying interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities.
Indonesian Embassy visit
In addition to the summit, the delegation conducted a strategic meeting with the Ambassador of Indonesia to Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in Nairobi on 1 April 2026. The meeting discussed opportunities for academic collaboration with universities in Kenya and explored the potential role of the Embassy in supporting Universitas Airlangga’s global engagement, including as part of the Employer Contact List for QS World University Rankings (QS WUR). The presence of an UNAIR alumnus at KBRI Nairobi further strengthened institutional ties and opened opportunities for future collaborations.
Furthermore, on 2 April 2026, the delegation carried out an institutional visit to the University of Nairobi, where they held a strategic meeting with the Director of the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies. The discussion focused on advancing institutional collaboration, including the preparation of a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and implementation agreements between Universitas Airlangga and the University of Nairobi.
In his role as a Faculty Ambassador from the Faculty of Humanities, Dr. David Segoh contributed to strengthening academic communication with prospective partners and advancing collaboration initiatives through existing academic networks. His active involvement in both the summit and institutional engagement supported the expansion of Universitas Airlangga’s Academic Peer List (APL) and reinforced its academic presence in the Africa region.
Through these initiatives, Universitas Airlangga continues to expand its international partnerships, strengthen its academic reputation, and enhance its global visibility. These efforts also support the university’s strategic objective of maintaining a competitive position in international ranking and advancing toward its target of achieving a Top 250 position worldwide, in line with Indonesia’s Asta Cita priorities point number 4 and 8.
Author: AGE Contributor Vania Bintang
Editor: Yulia Rohmawati