Newly Appointed Indonesian Ambassador Visits Leiden University
President of the Executive Board, Luc Sels, along with university members, welcomed Ambassador Laurentius Amrih Jinangkung and delegation in Leiden University on 15 April 2026. The visit was part of continued efforts to enhance bilateral ties between Indonesia and the Netherlands, particularly in higher education and research.
The program began at the Faculty Club on Wednesday with an introduction by Luc Sels. Leiden University has a long-standing tradition of academic collaboration with Indonesia, underlined with the fact that Leiden is the only Dutch University with a representative office in Indonesia.
Throughout the visit, ongoing educational and research cooperation projects were showcased. The Dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences Bart Barendregt, the Head of the Van Vollenhoven Institute of the Law Faculty Adriaan Bedner, and the Dean of Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities alliance Wim van den Doel highlighted collaborative projects with Indonesian partners. For instance, the consortium with University of Indonesia (UI), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Airlangga University (UNAIR), and Mulawarman University (UNMUL) under the umbrella of the Indonesia-Netherlands Universities Consortium on Sustainable Futures (INUCoST).
The program continued at the Leiden University Library where they were greeted with a brief presentation from the Director of Leiden University Libraries Kurt De Belder. The delegates enjoyed an exclusive pop-up exhibition with some of the library’s most treasured manuscripts and photo albums, as well as a selection of historical dictionaries documenting the study of languages in the Indonesian archipelago.
Vice Dean Bart de Smit welcomed the delegation at the Faculty or Science, followed by another round of presentations of the faculty collaborations with Indonesia and a meeting with Indonesian PhD students. During this visit, potential areas for expanded cooperation were explored, particularly in science, health, biodiversity, and technological innovation. The Ambassador expressed his intention to visit Leiden University again in the near future.