Universitas Andalas Strengthens Global SDG Collaboration through ICSSD-SEA 2026 under the EQUITY Program

PADANG, INDONESIA — Universitas Andalas (UNAND), through its Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), successfully organized the International Conference on the Social Dimensions of Sustainable Development in Southeast Asia (ICSSD-SEA) 2026, an international academic forum designed to strengthen research collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the university’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Held on 14–15 July 2026 at the Universitas Andalas Convention Hall in Padang, the conference carried the theme “Advancing Social Dimensions of the SDGs in Southeast Asia: Inequality, Governance, and Community Resilience.” The event was organized in a hybrid format, enabling academics, researchers, students, practitioners, and international partners to participate both onsite and online.

The conference reflected growing academic interest in the social dimensions of sustainable development. According to the final activity report, the organizing committee received 262 abstracts from 72 universities and institutions across seven countries, with 211 presenters ultimately participating in the parallel sessions. The conference provided a platform for discussing issues ranging from governance and inequality to climate resilience, digital transformation, gender, sustainable livelihoods, community empowerment, and public policy.

The conference featured distinguished speakers from leading institutions in Southeast Asia and Australia, including Asst. Prof. Dr. Chantha Thanawattanawong of Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand; Professor Vedi Hadiz of the University of Melbourne, Australia; Dr. Lamngeune Souliyavong of the National University of Laos; Dr. Mohammad Reevany Bustami of Universiti Sains Malaysia; and Dr. Sofia Trisni of Universitas Andalas. Their presentations explored local governance and community empowerment, inequality and sustainable development, environmental and livelihood challenges, social cohesion, and public diplomacy.

The conference is part of Universitas Andalas’ broader effort to strengthen its international academic presence while demonstrating how universities can contribute directly to the global sustainable development agenda. The activity particularly resonates with SDG 4 on Quality Education, SDG 5 on Gender Equality, SDG 10 on Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and SDG 17 on Partnerships for the Goals. The activity report also emphasizes that research, education, and international collaboration are important dimensions of university contributions measured through the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

Prof. Henmaidi, Vice Rector IV of Universitas Andalas and Person in Charge of the EQUITY Program, emphasized that activities such as ICSSD-SEA should create impacts that extend beyond the conference itself.

“Through the EQUITY Program, Universitas Andalas is seeking to transform international academic activities into measurable institutional impact. ICSSD-SEA demonstrates that internationalization can be directly connected with research quality, global partnerships, knowledge dissemination, and the Sustainable Development Goals. In the next EQUITY period, we need to ensure that every activity is designed from the outset with clear SDG targets, measurable outputs, strong international partnerships, and sustainable follow-up mechanisms.”

He added that strengthening the connection between academic activities and institutional performance would be increasingly important, particularly in enhancing UNAND’s international recognition and demonstrating the university’s tangible contribution to sustainable development.

Dr. Eng. Muhammad Makky, Chair of the EQUITY Program at Universitas Andalas, highlighted the importance of ensuring continuity after internationally funded activities are completed.

“The success of EQUITY should not be measured only by the number of events, participants, or international speakers involved. What is equally important is what happens after the activity: whether new joint research is initiated, whether publications are produced, whether academic mobility develops, whether partnerships continue, and whether the knowledge generated contributes to society. Our next step is to strengthen this impact-oriented approach so that every EQUITY activity becomes an accelerator for the internationalization and global visibility of Universitas Andalas.”

According to Makky, future EQUITY initiatives should increasingly connect international conferences, research collaboration, mobility programs, publications, and institutional partnerships into a more integrated ecosystem. Such an approach would particularly strengthen SDG 4 through international learning and knowledge exchange, SDG 9 through innovation and research collaboration, and SDG 17 through sustainable global partnerships.

Meanwhile, Maryam Jamilah, S.IP., M.A., Chair of the ICSSD-SEA 2026 Organizing Committee, described the high level of participation as an important indication of the conference’s potential for continued development. The activity report identifies Maryam Jamilah as the activity’s organizing chair.

“The enthusiasm shown by researchers and institutions participating in ICSSD-SEA indicates that there is strong demand for an international forum focusing specifically on the social dimensions of sustainable development. The challenge for us now is to maintain this momentum by strengthening international promotion, improving the hybrid conference system, preparing publication pathways earlier, and expanding institutional collaboration so that ICSSD-SEA can develop into a sustainable international academic platform.”

Beyond research dissemination, ICSSD-SEA also provided opportunities for participants to develop new academic networks, exchange research experiences, explore collaborative projects, and pursue joint publications. The organizing committee also awarded Best Presenter recognition in the parallel sessions. As a post-conference follow-up, the report notes that publication cooperation was established with the Journal of ASEAN Studies, identified in the report as a Scopus Q2 journal, while discussions with other international publishers and journals were continuing.

Looking toward a future EQUITY period, the experience of ICSSD-SEA provides several areas for improvement. International activities could be designed with SDG mapping and measurable impact indicators from the proposal stage, rather than linking activities to the SDGs only after completion. International promotion could also be expanded to achieve broader geographic participation, while publication agreements with reputable journals or proceedings should ideally be secured before the activity begins.

Integrated digital systems for registration, manuscript submission, scheduling, certification, documentation, and publication tracking would strengthen efficiency and accessibility, particularly for hybrid activities. These priorities are consistent with the activity report’s recommendations to strengthen international promotion, establish publication partnerships earlier, improve hybrid technical support, develop integrated conference management, and expand collaboration with universities, research institutions, government agencies, and international partners.

Through ICSSD-SEA 2026, Universitas Andalas has demonstrated that an international conference can serve not only as a venue for presenting research, but also as a strategic platform for building global academic networks and advancing sustainable development. With stronger outcome-based planning, international partnerships, publication strategies, digital management, and long-term impact monitoring, the next period of EQUITY has the potential to generate even greater academic, institutional, social, and global impact.

This activity is funded by the Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) on behalf of the Indonesian Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology and managed under the EQUITY Program (Contract No.4304/B3/DT.03.08/2025).