UIN Jakarta Elected President of AIUA
Rectorate Building, UIN Online News - UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta has been elected as the President of the Asian Islamic Universities Association (AIUA) for the 2024-2026 period during the 14th Annual General Meeting of AIUA held at the Islamic University of Maldives, Male, Maldives, on May 25, 2024.
Attending the event was Vice-Rector for Cooperation, Din Wahid, Ph.D., representing the Rector of UIN Jakarta. The meeting was attended by dozens of leaders from Islamic universities in Asia, including those from Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Thailand. In the previous term, the AIUA presidency was held by UIN Antasari, Banjarmasin, with UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta serving as Treasurer.
Founded in 2015, AIUA now comprises 83 Islamic universities from various countries in Asia. The association has conducted several activities such as workshops, seminars, conferences, and accreditation programs.
Looking ahead, AIUA plans to develop a journal. With membership spanning several countries, AIUA has significant potential to strengthen international cooperation among Islamic higher education institutions (PTKI) in implementing the Tri Dharma of Higher Education. Following the election as AIUA President, the Vice-Rector for Cooperation promptly reported to the Rector.
Separately, the Rector of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Prof. Asep Saepudin Jahar, M.A., Ph.D., expressed his hope that AIUA will strengthen the internationalization programs of Islamic higher education institutions through various initiatives. These include student exchanges, faculty exchanges, research collaborations, and publications, as well as citing the works of PTKI lecturers.
Rector Asep Jahar also hopes that PTKI can maximize all the resources available through AIUA, such as networks, human resources, and other potentials.
The annual meeting began with the International Seminar of Asian Islamic Universities in the morning. The seminar was opened by the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Maldives, Ahmed Shiyam.
The seminar addressed two main issues: "leadership for inclusion in higher education and catering for disadvantaged groups of students," and "adapting curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment for inclusion in higher education."
At the event, eight papers were presented by experts from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. After the seminar, the Annual General Meeting took place, one of its key agendas being the election of the new AIUA President, with UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta being elected. The event concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between several AIUA member universities.
(Contributor/PIH/Faadhila Idris)