Repositioning PTKI in the Era of Global Knowledge and Social Impact
Ahmad Tholabi Kharlie
(Professor at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta)
The message delivered by the secretary general of the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs, Kamaruddin Amin, during the UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta Work Meeting (February 13, 2026), can be understood as both an epistemic and strategic signal regarding a major shift in the governance of Islamic higher education institutions (PTKI).
In his brief presentation, there was a clear message about the historical repositioning of PTKI within the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education, which is increasingly shaped by global competition grounded in knowledge production and social impact.
Several key points were highlighted, including the shift toward impact-driven universities, the strengthening of Islamic distinctiveness, and the capitalization of global alumni networks. These ideas reflect an effort to reorganize PTKI’s position so that it does not remain confined within purely administrative logic.
He emphasized that the future of higher education institutions will no longer be determined solely by competitive performance indicators but by their capacity to deliver real solutions for society.
This message emerges within the broader transformation of PTKI over the past two decades. Data from the Ministry of Religious Affairs show that since the early 2000s, more than 20 State Islamic Institutes (IAIN) have transformed into State Islamic Universities (UIN) with multidisciplinary academic scopes.
The establishment of faculties in science, technology, economics, medicine, and modern social sciences has expanded the student base and strengthened national competitiveness. PTKI institutions now enroll more than one million students nationwide, making them one of the largest higher education systems in Indonesia.
However, this institutional success has also produced an identity paradox. While transformation has strengthened national recognition, it has simultaneously raised concerns about the weakening of Islamic epistemological foundations.
In this context, the Secretary General’s message can be read as a call to redefine the direction of transformation—not merely to continue structural expansion.
From Indicators to Social Impact
The call for PTKI to move from being “excellent universities” to becoming “impact-driven universities” represents a subtle critique of higher education performance models that rely too heavily on quantitative indicators.
For years, institutional success has been equated with accreditation status, scientific publications, citation counts, and global rankings. While these indicators remain important, they do not fully capture a university’s tangible contributions to society.
Theoretically, this idea aligns with the concept of the “engaged university” developed by Ernest Boyer (1996) and the “civic university” expanded by John Goddard (2013). Within this framework, universities are viewed as public institutions that must connect with societal needs rather than function as isolated centers of knowledge production. Boyer even emphasized that true scholarship bridges knowledge and community needs.
In the Indonesian context, this paradigm is increasingly relevant. Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) show persistent regional education disparities, while challenges such as structural poverty, identity-based conflict, and digital disruption continue to intensify. With its deep grassroots presence, PTKI holds a strategic position as a bridge between academic knowledge and social realities.
Yet transforming into an impact-driven university requires an internal paradigm shift. Research cannot end with journal publication; it must respond to community needs. Community service must not be reduced to administrative formality but should function as a social laboratory generating sustainable solutions.
Curricula must also integrate real-world issues as learning contexts, enabling students not only to understand theory but also to apply knowledge in social life.
Thus, becoming an impact-driven university is not the opposite of achieving global academic excellence. Rather, it represents the integration of scholarly quality and social relevance.
Safeguarding the Islamic Core
Kamaruddin also stressed the urgency of strengthening Islamic distinctiveness, which touches upon PTKI’s epistemic identity. While transformation into multidisciplinary universities has increased institutional appeal, it has also raised concerns about the marginalization of Islamic studies. In several PTKI institutions, enrollment in Islamic studies programs has declined, while non-religious faculties continue to expand rapidly.
If left unaddressed, PTKI risks losing its defining character and becoming general universities with merely symbolic religious identities. Historically, PTKI’s strength lies precisely in its ability to integrate Islamic intellectual traditions with modern knowledge.
Fazlur Rahman (1982) argued that Islamic studies must move from a purely textual approach toward a contextual one that responds to contemporary challenges. Similarly, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im (2008) emphasized that Islamic intellectual traditions hold significant potential as a source of global ethical frameworks in addressing modernity.
Therefore, strengthening Islamic scholarship cannot simply mean preserving classical curricula. It must involve developing Islamic studies that engage with contemporary issues such as bioethics, artificial intelligence, climate change, and the global economy.
In this framework, Islam becomes not merely an object of normative study but a source of values and ethical guidance for addressing modern human challenges.
Amid growing global polarization and extremism, this role becomes even more strategic. PTKI carries a historical responsibility as an intellectual stronghold of religious moderation and as a center for producing inclusive and solution-oriented Islamic thought.
Capitalizing on Alumni Networks
Kamaruddin also highlighted an often-overlooked aspect of university governance: the underutilization of alumni networks. Many PTKI institutions have graduates spread across strategic sectors—government, education, business, and international organizations—yet this potential has not been systematically managed.
In world-class universities, alumni represent a strategic institutional asset. The CASE Global Alumni Engagement Metrics study (2020) shows that alumni networks significantly contribute to institutional reputation, research funding, and student global mobility.
Therefore, alumni capitalization requires deliberate institutional strategies. PTKI must develop global databases, strengthen professional networks, build collaborative research platforms, and involve alumni in curriculum development and innovation. In the era of global knowledge exchange, network strength often determines institutional competitiveness.
Ultimately, these messages point toward a strategic repositioning of PTKI within both national and global higher education systems. Islamic higher education institutions must go beyond serving as formal education providers and emerge as agents of social transformation—integrating Islamic identity with global competence.
This repositioning demands visionary academic leadership, adaptive governance, and a collaborative institutional culture. PTKI must shift from administrative orientation to impact orientation, from sectoral paradigms to interdisciplinary approaches, and from internal competition to global networking.
If this transformation succeeds, PTKI will not only become academically excellent institutions but also centers of civilization that offer values, solutions, and hope for society.
In that sense, the Secretary General’s message stands as a historical call for PTKI to return to its foundational spirit: as institutions of knowledge that enlighten the mind while dignifying human life.
This article was originally published by the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Monday, February 16, 2026.