AIPKI Congress 2025 in Padang Highlights Universitas Andalas’ Role in Transforming Medical Education in Support of SDG 3 and SDG 4

The Faculty of Medicine of Universitas Andalas was entrusted to host the 2025 Congress of the Association of Indonesian Medical Education Institutions (AIPKI), held from June 27 to 29, 2025, at ZHM Premiere Hotel Padang, West Sumatra. This national forum brought together stakeholders in medical education from across Indonesia to discuss new directions for strengthening medical education in the country, while also reaffirming Universitas Andalas’ role in the strategic national agenda of increasing the number and quality of medical professionals.

The congress was officially opened by the Director General of Higher Education, Science, and Technology of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Prof. Khairul Munadi, accompanied by the Governor of West Sumatra, Mahyeldi Ansharullah. During the forum, which was reported on June 27, 2025, the government reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening both access to and quality of medical education, including through the establishment of new medical schools, nursing academies, and specialist programs as part of the effort to reinforce the national healthcare system.

In terms of participation, the congress was a major national-scale event. Universitas Andalas recorded the attendance of 298 delegates from 115 medical education institutions across Indonesia, along with 11 institutional exhibition booths and 5 local MSMEs. The series of activities included keynote speeches, panel discussions, organizational meetings, the election of the AIPKI Chair for the 2026–2028 period, and a visit to the Universitas Andalas Limau Manis Campus. The involvement of academic institutions, government representatives, hospitals, and local stakeholders demonstrated that the development of medical education is now seen as a shared agenda requiring cross-sector collaboration.

In his remarks delivered online, Indonesia’s Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Prof. Brian Yuliarto, emphasized the President’s directive on the urgent need to accelerate the increase in the number of medical professionals in Indonesia. As a follow-up, the ministry is expected to establish a task force for accelerating medical education in order to formulate strategic policies related to increasing both the number and equitable distribution of doctors, including specialists. According to the study presented during the forum, Indonesia has the potential to open up to 165 specialist study programs between 2025 and 2028, with a capacity of more than 4,300 specialist medical residency students.

At the same time, the forum stressed that the increase in the number of medical institutions and graduates must be accompanied by serious attention to quality. Chairman of the Central Executive Board of AIPKI, Prof. Budi Santoso, revealed that Indonesia currently has 127 public and private medical faculties, a sharp increase from 76 in 2022. Therefore, quality control, the maintenance of educational standards, and cost management remain priorities to ensure that access to becoming a doctor can be more widely enjoyed by the public.

Universitas Andalas Rector, Efa Yonnedi, reaffirmed the university’s commitment through its Faculty of Medicine to continue strengthening the national health system through the development of teaching hospital networks, translational research, increased scientific publications, and accelerated international accreditation. Meanwhile, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, dr. Sukri Rahman, stated that the opportunity to serve as host represented an important momentum to help shape a new direction for national medical education. This reflects that Universitas Andalas’ role extends beyond organizing the event and includes a concrete contribution to strengthening Indonesia’s medical education ecosystem.

This event is particularly relevant to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), as the congress focused on increasing the number of doctors, strengthening health services, and ensuring a more equitable distribution of medical personnel for the public. It is also closely linked to SDG 4 (Quality Education), since the forum placed the transformation of medical education, curriculum quality, institutional governance, and graduate quality at the center of the national agenda being advanced collectively.