The Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM), Prof. Dr. Didi Achjari, S.E., M.Com., Akt., was invited by the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the World Governments Summit (WGS) 2025, which was held in Dubai from February 11-13, 2025. This prestigious event, which took place at the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel, brought together heads of government, policymakers, academics, and business leaders from over 140 countries to inspire the next generation of governance.
The event opened with a keynote address by Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs of the United Arab Emirates and Chairman of the World Government Summit Organization, who highlighted the importance of global collaboration in addressing educational challenges in the digital age. Among the distinguished international speakers who participated in person and virtually were Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla), Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google), Robin Li (CEO of Baidu), and Klaus Schwab (Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum).
Under the overarching theme of “Shaping Future Governments,” WGS 2025 covered a range of discussion topics, including Governments in the Intelligent Age, Future Leadership: Driving Efficiency and Government Policies, Innovative Governments for a Resilient Future, The Social and Economic Impact of AI, Transforming Universities in Africa and Asia into World-Class Institutions, and Partnering with Industry to Build a Knowledge Economy.
The Dean of FEB UGM was specially invited to participate in the Future of Education Roundtable at WGS 2025. This session featured three main discussion topics within a 90-minute timeframe: Investing in Education: Making Education a Top Investment Priority, Accelerating Reforms: Accelerating Policies for Impactful Education Transformation, and The Future of Certification: Rethinking Educational Credentials and Their Impact on Higher Education and the Labor Market.
The Future of Education Roundtable brought together key stakeholders for strategic discussions on designing a more inclusive and adaptive education system. Key topics included aligning education with industry needs, leveraging technology and artificial intelligence (AI), and fostering public-private collaboration to expand access to quality education.
As the only academic representative from Indonesia, the Dean of FEB UGM discussed the importance of prioritizing education as a key investment, accelerating policies for effective education transformation, and reassessing the certification system and its impact on higher education and the labor market.
Participation in this forum reinforced FEB UGM’s contribution and impact on the international stage, supporting the transformation of education to be more adaptable to technological advances and industry needs. In addition, the platform opened opportunities for collaboration with various international institutions in the development of academic programs and research initiatives.
Report by: Kurnia Ekaptiningrum
Sustainable Development Goals
