It is one of the greatest privileges for any university leader to witness graduates walk forward into the world. These are the individuals who will help drive prosperity, steward innovation and contribute to the growth of Indonesia and, with it, the region. Their success is a powerful reminder that our most important international partnerships are not measured in trade balances or treaties, but in people.

The ties between Australia and Southeast Asia, and particularly Indonesia, are growing deeper and more strategic by the day. At the heart of this relationship is a shared belief in the power of education, research and human capital to deliver lasting prosperity. This is the foundation for regional security and sustainable development. It is also the best hope we have for meeting the challenges of the future, from the clean energy transition to digital disruption, and from sustainable cities to public health.

As a university with campuses in Indonesia, Malaysia, China and India, Monash is anchored in place across the Indo-Pacific. But just as importantly, these campuses are anchored to one another and to Australia. Our regional presence is not a collection of outposts; it is an interconnected, purpose-built network designed to respond to the needs of each country, and to knit us closer together in common purpose.

That network is arguably one of Australia’s most compelling examples of soft diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific. It is a platform for shared knowledge production, mutual investment and community connection. Through it, we deliver programs tailored for public servants and professionals, drive research in areas critical to national development and collaborate directly with government and industry.

In Indonesia, for example, Monash is working with state utility PLN to build a skilled workforce that can deliver the country’s ambitious energy transition. The scale of that opportunity, to lift renewable energy use to 51.6 percent by 2030, requires deep collaboration and bold thinking. 

It is a strategic priority that cannot be solved by technology or investment alone. It needs talent, innovation and partnership. And universities are central to all three.

This focus on building capacity is reflected in initiatives like the Nusantara Scholarships, delivered in partnership between Indonesia and Australia, which support postgraduate study for Indonesian professionals working in the future capital Nusantara. These scholars are being equipped to lead Indonesia’s most significant infrastructure and governance project in a generation, a city designed to be green, sustainable and inclusive. That vision is only achievable if we invest in the people who will bring it to life.

From next year, the partnership will grow again with a co-funded scholarship program between Australia Awards and Indonesia’s LPDP, offering even greater access to Australian postgraduate education. These initiatives reflect a broader truth: that our two nations are deeply invested in each other’s success.

As vice-chancellor of Monash University, and a board member of the ASEAN-Australia Centre, I see every day the impact that research, education and mobility have on regional cooperation. 

The Centre, which commenced operations this month, is a timely and strategic initiative, serving as a focal point for Australia's engagement with the 10 ASEAN member states. It is supporting people-to-people links, driving business partnerships and building platforms for regional dialogue and leadership.

Next month, I look forward to speaking at the Australian ASEAN Business Forum in Adelaide. It will be an opportunity to explore how higher education can continue to power regional growth, sustainability and innovation. Universities are no longer just institutions of learning, we are enablers of national development, creators of talent pipelines and partners in nation-building.

Across Monash, more than 6,000 students will travel overseas this year as part of their studies, many of them engaging directly with Southeast Asian communities. These exchanges are more than just educational experiences, they are acts of diplomacy. They foster cross-cultural understanding, spark lifelong relationships and build networks of influence that endure well beyond graduation.

Earlier this week in Beijing, I joined business and government leaders at the eighth Australia-China CEO Roundtable, alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The message from that gathering was clear: education and research are fundamental to bilateral and regional partnerships. Monash’s active role in this dialogue reinforces the higher education sector’s ability to create bridges where others may see boundaries.

International education is already Australia’s third-largest export industry. But its value goes far beyond economics. It enriches our campuses and cities, underpins research that saves lives and builds a constituency for international cooperation grounded in knowledge and trust.

Our region is changing. The Indo-Pacific is the most dynamic, consequential region in the world today, where demography, geopolitics and ambition converge. It is where the next great advances in science, technology and governance will be made. And it is where education will make the greatest difference.

Australia and Indonesia are well placed to be leaders in that story. But only if we continue to invest in partnerships that matter, on the issues that matter. Universities must be central to that strategy, not as passive beneficiaries of internationalization, but as active agents of regional cooperation and progress.

At Monash, we are committed to that future. We have built an Indo-Pacific university for an Indo-Pacific century. And through our partnerships, our graduates and our ideas, we are proud to be helping shape a region, and a world, defined by collaboration, opportunity and shared success.

Our future is global. And our region is where it begins.

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The writer is Monash University vice-chancellor and president.