International Recognition: UIN Jakarta Scholars Included in Prestigious Top 2% Scientist by Elsevier

Jakarta, UIN Online News — Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta has once again earned international recognition with two of its leading scholars included in the Top 2% Scientists Worldwide list for 2025.

The honorees are Prof. Maila Dinia Husni Rahiem of the Faculty of Education (FITK) and Prof. Saiful Mujani of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP). The announcement was made on Monday (22/9/2025), following publication on Elsevier’s official platform a day earlier.

The ranking, compiled annually by a research team from Stanford University and published by Elsevier, distinguishes scientists in two categories: Top 2% across career impact and Top 2% based on single-year citation impact.

UIN Jakarta Rector, Prof. Asep Saepudin Jahar, praised the achievement as a milestone that highlights the university’s growing research reputation.

“We are proud and grateful for this international recognition. The accomplishments of our faculty reaffirm the relevance, credibility, and contribution of UIN’s research to both knowledge advancement and national development. This university will continue to strengthen a robust ecosystem of research built on integrity, collaboration, and real-world impact,” he stated.

Echoing this sentiment, Prof. Amelia Fauzia, Head of UIN Jakarta’s Institute for Research and Community Engagement (LP2M), mentioned UIN Jakarta's mission for continuous focus on quality.

“Our priority is quality. LP2M is committed to strengthening academic integrity, data management, open science, and interdisciplinary collaboration. With a solid methodological foundation, UIN’s research output will become increasingly competitive and impactful,” she explained.

Prof. Maila Dinia Husni Rahiem, a senior scholar at FITK, focuses her research on resilience, thriving, education, and inclusive cross-disciplinary STEM development for societal advancement. Her studies emphasize student and teacher resilience, evidence-based teaching, and the integration of technology and learning analytics to enhance education from early childhood through higher education. Her expertise has also positioned her as an expert advisor to Indonesia’s Minister of Primary and Secondary Education.

The 2025 recognition marks her third consecutive inclusion in the global ranking, following 2023 and 2024. Notably, she was the sole scholar from State Islamic Higher Education institutions (PTKIN) on the 2023 list and remains the only woman researcher from PTKIN included in 2025.

Meanwhile, Prof. Saiful Mujani, a renowned political science professor at FISIP, is widely recognized as a pioneer of public opinion research in Indonesia. His work spans voter behavior, public opinion, democratization, and electoral governance, with significant methodological contributions to quantitative surveys, including probabilistic sampling, tracking polls, exit polls, and panel surveys.

As founder and research advisor of a leading survey institute, he upholds rigorous quality and ethical standards to ensure reliable and auditable data. His scholarly contributions include books and journal articles widely cited by academics and policymakers. At UIN Jakarta, he continues to mentor young researchers and teach applied quantitative methods, reinforcing the university’s prestige in social sciences both nationally and internationally.

The Top 2% Scientists Worldwide list highlights researchers who are in the top two percent of their fields or among the top 100,000 researchers globally, using measures like total citations (not counting their own), H-index, and overall citation scores. For 2025, the list spans 22 broad scientific fields and over 170 subfields.

Major research ecosystems such as the United States, China, and the United Kingdom contributed the largest number of names. Globally, hundreds of thousands of scientists were ranked, with only 209 scholars from Indonesia making the cut—including two from UIN Jakarta.

This year’s achievement not only strengthens UIN Jakarta’s global research profile but also marks significant progress within the PTKIN cluster. From just one researcher in 2023 to a formidable five in 2025, the growth reflects successful investments in cultivating a research culture, fostering international collaboration, and enhancing institutional support.

(Fathan Rangga/Fauziah M./Zaenal M./Muhamad Arifin Ilham/Photo: PIH)