JAKARTA / NEW DELHI — In a major diplomatic and educational milestone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has officially announced that the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) will establish its first international campus in Indonesia.
The announcement, made during a joint press statement with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, positions the upcoming facility at the Singhasari Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Malang. The strategic deployment is expected to significantly enhance management education access for youth across the entire ASEAN region.
Expanding India’s Academic Footprint
The proposed IIMB campus represents a continuing trend of internationalizing India’s premier higher education ecosystem, directly advancing the core vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020:
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Global Knowledge Partner: The Indonesian deployment builds upon recent successful international expansions by top-tier Indian institutes, including IIM Ahmedabad in Dubai, IIT Delhi in Abu Dhabi, and IIT Madras in Zanzibar.
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Strategic Bilateral Ties: The initiative reinforces the deepening academic and human capital development partnerships between India and Indonesia, highlighting India’s emergence as a provider of high-quality, affordable education within the Indo-Pacific corridor.
Phased Rollout and Future-Ready Curriculum
The institutional framework for the campus will be executed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IIM Bangalore and PT Intelegensia Grahatama (PT IGT), the managing entity of the Singhasari SEZ.
The academic rollout is structured in two distinct phases:
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Phase One: Initial launch focusing on high-level Executive Education Programmes tailored for senior executives, business leaders, and public sector administrators.
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Phase Two: Following a successful two-year implementation of executive courses, the campus will introduce full degree-granting management programmes.
To ensure relevance in the modern business landscape, the curriculum will be anchored around five critical domains: Global Supply Chains, Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Climate and Sustainability, and Healthcare Management.
Regional Impact and Cross-Border Immersion
While the campus is primarily designed to serve Indonesian nationals, it is strategically positioned to attract students and professionals from neighboring Southeast Asian nations.
To bridge regional ecosystems, enrolled participants in Indonesia will have structured opportunities to undertake short academic immersion modules at IIMB’s main campus in Bengaluru. These exchanges are designed to provide direct exposure to India’s rapidly scaling innovation, technology, and business environments, further solidifying the Global South as a preferred destination for elite leadership development.
