Depok-The Universitas Indonesia (UI) Vocational Education Program successfully held the prestigious international conference, The 3rd Asian Physiotherapy Network Conference (APNC) 2026. Held at the UI Vocational Auditorium on February 14, 2026, this forum became a meeting point for physiotherapy practitioners, researchers, and academics throughout Asia to design the future of the profession based on evidence and technology.
With the overarching theme of “Building the Future of Physiotherapy: Academic Networks and the Power of Evidence,” the conference aims to strengthen cross-country synergy in improving the quality of rehabilitation services globally.
In his remarks, the Vice Director for Education, Research, and Student Affairs at UI Vocational, Badrul Munir, Ph.D., emphasized that the conference is part of UI Vocational’s internationalization strategy. “APNC is an important platform for strengthening research culture and expanding global academic networks. UI Vocational strives to encourage students and lecturers to be active in international academic networks so they can produce scientific work that is impactful and relevant to the needs of society,” Munir said.
(Photo: Vice Director for Education, Research, and Student Affairs of UI Vocational, Badrul Munir, Ph.D., while giving a speech at the 3rd Asian Physiotherapy Network Conference (APNC) 2026)
The main highlight of the conference came from Prof. Dr. Feryal Subasi, Head of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Yeditepe University, Turkey, who presented the topic “From Proprioception to Machine Learning: New Strategies for Enhancing Physiotherapy Progress in Multiple Sclerosis”. In her presentation, Prof. Subasi explained that Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that affects around 2.8 million people globally. MS has multidimensional impacts—motor, sensory, cognitive, and psychological—thus requiring a comprehensive and integrated rehabilitation approach.
One of the main issues in MS is fatigue, which is experienced by more than 80% of patients. She explained that fatigue is not just a simple feeling of tiredness, but is related to disruption of the central nervous system circuit (cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical loop) that affects cognitive functions such as planning and decision-making. Prof. Subasi said, “A minimum 40-minute exercise session is an important threshold (therapeutic active dose) to encourage neuroplasticity and motor improvement. The duration and intensity of exercise are directly related to an increase in the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score of up to an average of 4 points, which is clinically significant in reducing the risk of falls,” he said.
(Photo: The atmosphere of the international conference The 3rd Asian Physiotherapy Network Conference (APNC) 2026, one of which is a published scientific poster)
Meanwhile, Yorimitsu Furukawa, PT, Ph.D from Tokyo Metropolitan University discussed “Revisiting the Roots of Physical Therapy in Japan”; Hironobu Kuruma from Tokyo Metropolitan University discussed “Mentored Clinical Practice through video -The trial to develop clinical reasoning skills-”; Assoc. Prof. Gokhan YAGIZ from Tokyo Metropolitan University discussed “Ultrasound Principles and Muscle Architecture”; Abdul Chalik Meidian, S.A.P, Ftr, M.Fis., Ph.D from Esa Unggul University discussed “The Development of Physiotherapy Education and Research in Indonesia”; and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aditya Denny Pratama, S.St.Ft., M.Fis., NMTC.TC from the Universitas Indonesia discussed “Inclusion Model for Enhancing Resilience in Children with Disabilities: Study of Children with Cerebral Palsy in Jakarta”.
Project Director 3rd APNC, Riza Pahlawi, Str.Ftr., M.Kes., emphasized that this conference not only focuses on strengthening academic networks, but also has relevance to the development agenda and strengthening Physiotherapy on the global stage. “Cross-border physiotherapy research collaborations such as those established in APNC directly contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 3 on Good Health and Well-Being through improving the quality of evidence-based rehabilitation services, and Goal 4 on Quality Education through strengthening higher education and international research. In addition, this Asian collaborative network is also in line with Goal 17, namely Partnerships for the Goals, because it builds strategic partnerships for the advancement of science and public health,” he said.
He added that the development of rehabilitation technology, research integration, and academic capacity building are long-term investments in an inclusive and sustainable health system. Through the 3rd APNC 2026, UI Vocational continues to strive to be an active part of the collaborative transformation of Asian physiotherapy, adapting to scientific and technological developments, and consistently prioritizing evidence-based practices to improve the quality of life of patients at the regional and global levels.
