From Four Students to a National Movement

Thirty years ago, the University of Alberta helped introduce occupational therapy to Indonesia. Today, it is helping shape its future.

Where it began

In 1994, four Indonesian clinicians came to Edmonton to study in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine before returning home to establish Indonesia's first occupational therapy education program. That partnership laid the foundation for the profession in a country of more than 280 million people.

For the next three decades, growth was slow. Only two occupational therapy programs existed, limiting the number of graduates and educators entering the profession.

That began to change in 2023.

A new chapter begins

Professor Shaniff Esmail was invited to support the University of Indonesia's occupational therapy program. During his 2024–25 sabbatical, he worked alongside educators, university leaders and government officials to strengthen occupational therapy education nationwide.

Together, they developed Indonesia's first national occupational therapy curriculum, now approved by the country's Workforce Minister and adopted as the standard for both existing and future programs.

Some partnerships you can hold in your hands. Three of the four clinicians who came to Edmonton in 1994 — and went home to found occupational therapy education in Indonesia — show their U of A pride, three decades later.

A group photo tradition, honoured. Faculty at Surakarta Health Polytechnic gather with Professors Shaniff Esmail and Sharon Brintnell during celebrations of 30 years of occupational therapy education in Indonesia, where both were recognized for their "lifetime of dedication" to the profession.

Building the future

The work has already transformed the profession. Three new occupational therapy programs will welcome their first students in September 2026, including Indonesia's first post-professional master's program designed to prepare future occupational therapy educators.

With more master's-trained faculty, universities will be able to launch additional programs and graduate more therapists to meet the country's growing rehabilitation needs. Several more programs are already planned for 2027.

The momentum extends beyond the classroom. In June 2026, the Indonesian Journal of Occupational Therapy published its first issue, creating a national platform to share research and advance evidence-informed practice.

For the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, it is a powerful example of how investing in education creates lasting change far beyond Canada's borders.