Welcoming Nursing Delegates From Thailand’s Burapha University, UIN Jakarta Launches Inbound Exchange to Tackle Southeast Asia’s Elderly Chronic Disease Crisis

JAKARTA, UIN Online News – Expanding its strategic footprint in regional healthcare diplomacy, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta formally received a delegation of nursing faculty and student researchers from Burapha University, Thailand, on Monday, July 20, 2026. Convened at the Muhammad Kamil Tadjudin Auditorium, the week-long inbound mobility program marks a milestone in cross-border clinical cooperation, specifically designed to address pressing geriatric and chronic disease challenges currently affecting aging populations across Southeast Asia.

The inaugural assembly brought together Vice Rector for Student Affairs Professor Ali Munhanif, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Professor Zilhadia, Assistant Professor Wanita Kwansumran from Burapha University’s Faculty of Nursing, alongside seven visiting Thai nursing scholars.

Delivering the opening address, Vice Rector Professor Ali Munhanif highlighted the strategic necessity of this bilateral academic exchange. He noted that as life expectancy increases across ASEAN nations, chronic conditions such as hypertension and age-related health disruptions require unified inter-state clinical solutions.

"This marks our first international exchange dedicated strictly to nursing sciences, focusing heavily on chronic disease management," Professor Munhanif explained to the assembly. "With rising life expectancies across our societies, elderly healthcare needs have become a shared global challenge. Cross-border cooperation is essential to elevate our collective wisdom, clinical capacity, and public policy frameworks."

Furthermore, Professor Munhanif emphasized that UIN Jakarta’s Islamic identity serves as an active catalyst for global inclusivity rather than isolation. He reaffirmed that Islamic higher education in Indonesia thrives alongside cultural diversity, establishing international scientific exchange as a core institutional mandate to position Indonesian health sciences on the global stage.

Detailing the operational itinerary, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Professor Zilhadia outlined an intensive week-long curriculum combining academic workshops, comparative healthcare analysis, and clinical field visits spanning community health centers (Puskesmas) to major regional hospitals across Jakarta and Bogor.

Highlighting the faculty's dual-directional mobility strategy, Professor Zilhadia revealed that while hosting the Thai delegates in Jakarta, the faculty simultaneously launched an outbound student cohort to Nihon Pharmaceutical University in Japan for a two-week intensive pharmacy residency.

Assistant Professor Wanita Kwansumran from Burapha University expressed deep appreciation for the warm reception, emphasizing her team's eagerness to conduct comparative curriculum reviews and observe Indonesia's localized chronic disease interventions firsthand.

Through the successful execution of this bilateral nursing exchange, UIN Jakarta proves that academic mobility extends beyond theoretical lectures, directly transforming health science education into an active mechanism for regional public health resilience.