Students, Students, Students! A Dialogue on Education, Leadership and Transforming Systems

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What does it really take to transform an education system that serves millions, without losing sight of the people it exists to serve?

Dr Iwan Syahril knows this challenge intimately. As former Director General at Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, he led the “Merdeka Belajar” (Emancipated Learning) reforms across 17,000 islands and 552 decentralised local governments, reaching over 50 million students, 420,000 schools, and 3.3 million teachers, and achieving proficiency gains of up to 33%.

In this dialogue, Dr Syahril draws on his new book, Students, Students, Students! The Human Journey in Leadership and System Transformation, to explore what enduring reform actually requires: purpose, trust, humility, and the courage to keep people, not just policy, at the centre of change. Grounded in the philosophy of Ki Hajar Dewantara and the ethic of gotong royong, and built around his own PLC Compass framework, this is a conversation for anyone confronting the challenge of leading change in complex systems.

Speaker: Dr Iwan Syahril, Former Director General, Ministry of Education, Indonesia; Senior Advisor, Global Institute of Teach For All

• 14 August 2026 (Friday)
• 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• Lecture Theatre 6, Level 4, Sunway College

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This event is co-hosted by the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI), Sunway University, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), bringing together voices shaping the future of education and leadership.

We look forward to seeing you there!