SDG 17.2.3 International collaboration on data gathering for SDGs
Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia
Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) is an international postgraduate university for advanced studies on Islam and the Muslim world, established as a National Strategic Project of the Government of Indonesia, with students from more than 40 countries.
UIII takes part in international collaborations that gather, measure, consolidate and share data and evidence for the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2025 this included cross-border field research, joint research agendas with international research centres, international conferences that pooled research evidence from many countries into shared outcomes, and long-term partnerships with United Nations and multilateral bodies. The nine collaborations in 2025 are detailed as follows:
1. University-level International Partnerships
1.1. International Conference on Human Fraternity and the Jakarta Declaration, with the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity
UIII and the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF), an independent international committee based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, jointly convened the International Conference on Human Fraternity in Jakarta on 29–30 July 2025, under the theme “Advancing Human Fraternity Amidst Global Uncertainties: Toward a More Peaceful and Prosperous World Civilization”. The conference followed the Memorandum of Understanding signed by UIII and HCHF on 3 September 2024.
More than 200 scholars, policymakers, religious leaders, government representatives, diplomats and civil society actors from several countries took part. Four international panels gathered evidence and perspectives on building fraternity across borders (migration, poverty and refugees), rights and social justice, the media’s role in bridging divides, and climate change and environmental justice. The findings were consolidated in the Jakarta Declaration on Human Fraternity, adopted on 30 July 2025, and the conference launched the Indonesian Institute for Human Fraternity (IIHF), a joint UIII–HCHF platform for continued research and dialogue.
International partners: Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (United Arab Emirates); participants and embassies from several countries
Data collaboration: Collection of cross-country evidence and recommendations through four thematic panels, consolidated into a documented knowledge product (the Jakarta Declaration) and a joint institute for continued research
SDGs Relevance: No Poverty, Reduced Inequalities, Climate Action, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, Partnerships for the Goals
1.2. Centre of Excellence in Islamic Finance for SDGs, with UNDP and the Islamic Development Bank Institute
The Centre of Excellence in Islamic Finance for SDGs is a tripartite partnership of UIII, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Institute, initiated in June 2021 and launched in October 2021. Hosted by UIII’s Faculty of Economics and Business, it responds to the financing gap that developing countries face in achieving the SDGs by combining UIII’s academic expertise with the international development experience of UNDP and the IsDB Institute.
The Centre serves as a platform for research, knowledge exchange and capacity building on how Islamic finance can mobilise resources for the SDGs. Its research areas include the impact of Islamic social finance (zakat, waqf and cash waqf-linked sukuk), the role of Islamic banks, microfinance and fintech in sustainable development, Islamic public–private partnerships for sustainable infrastructure, and digital finance and financial inclusion.
International partners: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Institute
Data collaboration: A standing international research partnership for gathering and analysing evidence on the contribution of Islamic finance to SDG financing
UIII news: https://feb.uiii.ac.id/coe/
SDGs Relevance: No Poverty, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Reduced Inequalities, Partnerships for the Goals
1.3. AICIS+ 2025: Annual International Conference on Islam, Science and Society
UIII hosted AICIS+ 2025, the flagship international conference of Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, on 29–31 October 2025, under the theme “Islam, Ecotheology and Technological Transformation: Multidisciplinary Innovation for a Just and Sustainable Future”. The conference received 2,434 research submissions from 31 countries, bringing together evidence on eco-theology, food and energy security, human capital and technological change. Researchers, scholars and policymakers presented and discussed their findings, and a Research Expo and a Science and Education Expo shared them with students and the public.
International partners: Researchers from 31 countries
Data collaboration: Collection and peer review of 2,434 research submissions from 31 countries on sustainability-related themes, shared through presentations and expos
SDGs Relevance: Quality Education, Affordable and Clean Energy, Climate Action, Partnerships for the Goals
2. Faculty of Social Sciences and the Indonesian Institute for Foreign Affairs (IIFA)
2.1. The 7th World Indonesianists Congress and the Research Partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
UIII’s Faculty of Social Sciences and IIFA co-hosted the 7th World Indonesianists Congress with the Foreign Policy Strategy Agency (BSKLN) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 12–13 November 2025 at UIII, under the theme “Reviving Bandung Spirit: Boosting South–South Cooperation toward a More Prosperous and Stable World Order”. Sixteen Indonesianists from ten countries exchanged research on Indonesia’s political, economic and socio-cultural development and its role in the Global South, covering South–South cooperation, economic development, climate action, the blue economy and cultural exchange. The Congress closed with eight takeaways, including expanding South–South cooperation into triangular cooperation and balancing development with environmental sustainability.
At the Congress the Faculty signed a Memorandum of Commitment with BSKLN’s Center for Policy Strategy on Special Issues and Data Analysis, to advance evidence-based, data-driven foreign policy and diplomacy through joint research, lectures, seminars, internships and publications.
International partners: Indonesianist scholars from ten countries; Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BSKLN)
Data collaboration: International exchange of research findings from ten countries, summarised in eight takeaways, and a standing partnership for data-driven foreign policy research
SDGs Relevance: Decent Work and Economic Growth, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Partnerships for the Goals
3. Faculty of Islamic Studies
3.1. Field Research on Muslim Minorities in Cambodia
In October 2025 a research team from UIII’s Faculty of Islamic Studies, led by Dr. Zacky Khairul Umam and coordinated by Dr. Faried F. Saenong, carried out thirteen days of field research in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, under the project “The Making of ‘Good’ Minority Muslims: Explaining Cambodian Minority Muslim Politics in Expanding Cambodia–Islamic World Relations”, a Flagship Research Award under UIII’s Muslim World theme.
The team collected primary data through interviews with the Deputy Grand Mufti of the Highest Council for Islamic Religious Affairs of Cambodia (HAICIR), officials of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Royal Senate, women community leaders, scholars including Dr. Farina So (University of Massachusetts) and Abu Kleb (INALCO, France), and the ambassadors of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Uzbekistan. It also conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Cham Muslim communities in Prek Pra and Kilometres 7 and 8 of Phnom Penh, and attended the “Assalamualaikum Cambodia” event on 9–11 October 2025.
International partners: Highest Council for Islamic Religious Affairs of Cambodia; Cambodian government ministries and the Royal Senate; scholars from the United States and France; embassies of four countries
Data collaboration: Cross-border primary data collection (interviews and ethnography) on the inclusion and participation of a minority community
SDGs Relevance: Reduced Inequalities, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, Partnerships for the Goals
4. Center for Muslim Politics and World Society (COMPOSE)
4.1. Regional Review of Interreligious Dialogue in Southeast Asia, with KAICIID
On 17 June 2025 COMPOSE, with the KAICIID International Programme and Institut Dian Yogyakarta, held the International Conference on “Interreligious Dialogue in Southeast Asian Region: Achievements, Challenges, and Opportunities” at UIII, marking ten years of the KAICIID International Fellows Programme in the region. Faith leaders, policymakers, activists, KAICIID fellows and scholars from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore, with guests from Portugal and Canada, reviewed a decade of experience with interreligious dialogue across the region and reviewed the KAICIID Fellows curriculum.
International partners: KAICIID (International Dialogue Centre); participants from six ASEAN countries, Portugal and Canada
Data collaboration: A ten-year regional review that pooled experience and results from six countries to assess achievements and challenges of interreligious dialogue for inclusive societies
UIII news: https://uiii.ac.id/?p=30326
SDGs Relevance: Quality Education, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, Partnerships for the Goals
5. Faculty of Economics and Business and the KOMITMEN Programme
5.1. International Conference on Muslim World Economy and Business (ICMWEB) 2025
On 7 May 2025 the Faculty of Economics and Business held its annual international conference, “Muslim World Economy and Business: Economic Resilience and Sustainable Development in OIC Countries”. Following an international call for papers, researchers and practitioners presented evidence on trade, energy, food security and agricultural sustainability in OIC countries, and on the role of Islamic and social finance, including zakat programmes and Islamic microfinance, in social inclusion and poverty reduction.
International partners: International research community, through an open international call for papers on OIC countries
Data collaboration: Exchange of research evidence on economic resilience and sustainable development across OIC countries
SDGs Relevance: No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Partnerships for the Goals
5.2. KOMITMEN–International Growth Centre Research Collaboration on a Climate-Responsive Economy
On 11 December 2025 UIII’s KOMITMEN programme hosted the Executive Director of the International Growth Centre (IGC), Assoc. Prof. Jonathan Leape, and Prof. Robin Burgess at UIII, with KOMITMEN lead Dr. Teguh Yudo Wicaksono, the Dean of Social Sciences and Dr. Sonny Mumbunan. IGC named Indonesia a key focus of its green economy research agenda. The meeting set research priorities on fiscal–monetary coordination for green financing, integrating climate into regional planning, and carbon-market regulation and verification, and called for stronger capacity to measure and report carbon footprints in sectors linked to the national carbon market. Both sides committed to long-term collaboration, and Prof. Chetan Ghate, Co-Director of the India Sustainable Growth Hub, gave a public lecture.
International partners: International Growth Centre (United Kingdom); India Sustainable Growth Hub
Data collaboration: Joint research agenda on climate-responsive macro-fiscal modelling, including the measurement and reporting of carbon footprints
SDGs Relevance: Decent Work and Economic Growth, Climate Action, Partnerships for the Goals
6. Master of Public Policy in Climate Change
6.1. Global Tipping Points Conference 2025, University of Exeter
From 30 June to 3 July 2025 Dr. Sonny Mumbunan, Head of UIII’s Master of Public Policy in Climate Change, took part in the Global Tipping Points Conference at the University of Exeter, organised with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. He shared Indonesian evidence with the international research community on positive tipping points and on Indonesia’s ecological fiscal transfers, which reward provinces and districts for forest cover and mobilised about US$1 billion in 2023.
International partners: University of Exeter (United Kingdom); Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (Germany)
Data collaboration: Sharing of national data on ecological fiscal transfers and forest finance with an international research network on climate tipping points
UIII news: https://uiii.ac.id/dr-sonny-mumbunans-leadership-at-the-2025-global-tipping-points-conference/
SDGs Relevance: Climate Action, Life on Land, Partnerships for the Goals
7. Summary of International Data Collaboration in 2025
| No. | Collaboration | Date | International partners | Data or knowledge output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | International Conference on Human Fraternity | 29–30 Jul 2025 | HCHF (UAE) | Jakarta Declaration; joint institute (IIHF) |
| 2 | Centre of Excellence in Islamic Finance for SDGs | Ongoing since 2021 | UNDP; IsDB Institute | Research on Islamic finance for SDG financing |
| 3 | AICIS+ 2025 | 29–31 Oct 2025 | Researchers from 31 countries | 2,434 research submissions |
| 4 | 7th World Indonesianists Congress; MoC with BSKLN | 12–13 Nov 2025 | Scholars from 10 countries | Eight takeaways; data-driven policy research partnership |
| 5 | Field research in Cambodia | Oct 2025 | HAICIR, Cambodian ministries, scholars (US, France) | Primary interview and ethnographic data |
| 6 | Interreligious dialogue review with KAICIID | 17 Jun 2025 | KAICIID; six ASEAN countries | Ten-year regional review |
| 7 | ICMWEB 2025 | 7 May 2025 | Researchers on OIC countries | Research evidence on OIC economies |
| 8 | KOMITMEN–IGC collaboration | 11 Dec 2025 | IGC (UK); India Sustainable Growth Hub | Joint research agenda; carbon measurement |
| 9 | Global Tipping Points Conference | 30 Jun–3 Jul 2025 | Exeter; PIK; Max Planck | Ecological fiscal transfer data shared |