Airlangga University

Before Universitas Airlangga was established on October 11, 1847, the proposal to educate young Javanese to become health experts was submitted to the Dutch colonial government. On May 8, 1913 — through Edict No. 4211 of the Governor General of the Netherlands-Indies — NIAS (Nederlandsch Indische Artsen School) (Netherlands Indies School of Doctors) was founded as a medical education center in Surabaya. The first medical institution was located in Jl. Kedungdoro 38, Surabaya. In 1923, NIAS was moved to its present-day location of the Faculty of Medicine of Universitas Airlangga, on Jl. Major General Moestopo, Surabaya.

Lonkhuizen, the director of the Department of Health, proposed the establishment of a School of Dentistry in Surabaya. He received approval from R.J.F. Van Zaben, the succeeding director of NIAS, and the new school was opened in July 1928. Later on, the school was better known as STOVIT (School tot Opleiding van Indische Tandartsen) (School for Training Indies Dentists) with 21 students. Later during the Japanese occupation, STOVIT was renamed Ika-Shika Daigaku (医科歯科大学) (College of Medicine and Dentistry) under the supervision of Takeda as its first director (1942–1945), while NIAS was closed down.

Two years later, the post-WW II Dutch colonial government took over Ika-Shika Daigaku and then changed its name to Tandheelkundig Instituut (Institute of Dentistry) and NIAS was reopened as Faculteit der Geneeskunde (Faculty of Medicine). In 1948, the dentistry institute changed its status to Universitair Tandheelkundig Instituut (UTI) (Institute of College Dentistry). Later after Republik Indonesia Serikat (RIS) gained its official independence in 1950, UTI was renamed LIKG (Lembaga Ilmu Kedokteran Gigi) (Institute of Dentistry) for four years, under the leadership of Prof. M. Knap and Prof. M. Soetojo. In 1948, both schools became part of the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry.

Universitas Airlangga was established by Government Regulation (Peraturan Pemerintah) No. 57/1954 and was inaugurated by the first president of the Republic of Indonesia, Sukarno on November 10, 1954, coinciding with the celebration of the ninth national Heroes' Day. In the same year, the Faculty of Law of Universitas Airlangga (formerly a branch of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Politics of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta) was established.