Russell Group ‘cautious’ on foreign campuses amid Indonesia talks

Plans by leading British universities to establish a shared campus in Indonesia could help reduce the financial risk for institutions as the government pushes offshore expansion. 

Universities are in discussions with leaders in the Singhasari Special Economic Zone in East Java about establishing a multi-institution campus as part of a consortium model.

Indonesia is keen to attract top foreign universities to the country, with regulations coming into force over the past decade to enable this. However, international universities have been slow to take up the opportunity, with Monash University the first to open an outpost in 2021.

Last year, Lancaster and Deakin universities followed, announcing plans to open a joint campus in Bandung, West Java. 

The Indonesian government appears to be on a renewed drive to attract British campuses, with Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s president, meeting with Russell Group vice-chancellors in London in January. 

Prabowo announced his ambition to establish 10 world-class universities in Indonesia through partnerships with British institutions, with a particular focus on medical and science courses.  

With the country’s higher education system predicted to become the third largest in the world by 2035 and immigration restrictions at home hampering international student recruitment, British universities are thought to be increasingly keen to capitalise on this demand. 

Facing a tough financial climate, institutions are exploring transnational education (TNE) models that reduce risks and cost them less but few universities appear willing to publicly commit to the project so far.

While Queen Mary University of London initially announced plans to lead the new campus as part of a wider consortium, it has since dropped its involvement. 

A spokesperson from Queen Mary said: “While the location of the proposed campus in not right for Queen Mary University at this time, we are continuing to actively explore opportunities for opening campuses overseas, including in an alternative location in Indonesia.”

The University of Liverpool and King’s College London – which already has a small outpost in the Special Economic Zone – have also previously been linked to the project, but it is unclear if they remain involved.

Vincenzo Raimo, an international higher education consultant, said the consortium model was a “very pragmatic response to the realities of transnational education”, likening it to existing ventures including Dubai’s International Academic City, Malaysia’s EduCity Iskandar and Incheon Global Campus in South Korea. 

All of these bring together multiple higher education institutions in one locality, with facilities often shared. Raimo said this was a way of “de-risking TNE”. 

“Building a stand-alone overseas campus is expensive, slow, and operationally complex. Sharing infrastructure like accommodation, student services, sports, food and recreation lowers the barrier to entry and allows universities to operate at smaller scale, especially in the early years.”

It also means universities don’t have to commit to significant upfront capital investment and can start with a limited portfolio of programmes and expand, he added. 

“For Russell Group institutions in particular, I think there is still significant caution about wholly owned campuses in new or unfamiliar regulatory environments,” he said. “A shared campus can feel like a safer entry point, offering international presence without assuming all the financial, reputational and operational risk alone. That doesn’t mean it’s risk-free, but it is often a more controllable form of risk.”

The campus is expected to focus on key subjects including artificial intelligence, life sciences, engineering and climate science. 

When initially announced, Tariq Ali, pro vice-chancellor for global engagement and partnerships at the University of Liverpool, said the “consortium approach” would allow “each UK university to contribute its own unique strengths”. 

Janet Ilieva, director of research consultancy Education Insight, said promoting subject specialism “reduces direct competition” between institutions, while the consortium model could also bring down the cost of research for institutions. 

“A shared campus can serve as a platform for joint labs, with Indonesian partners carrying a larger share of the local cost base,” she said. “If successfully implemented, this will significantly reduce research costs, which would be substantially higher if solely based in the UK.”

The campus “also carries political and diplomatic weight”, said Ilieva, referencing meetings between the Indonesian president and UK government officials about the venture. 

The plans were also featured in the recently published international education strategy, which pushed overseas expansion by higher education institutions as a way to boost exports and as an alternative to growing international student numbers in the UK. 

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com