Indonesia
UNISMA Postgraduate Program hosted a workshop organized by East Java chapter of Ikatan Sarjana Nahdlatul Ulama (ISNU). The workshop, attended by representatives of Nahdlatul Ulama-affiliated universities (PTNU) from East Java, Yogyakarta, and North Kalimantan, held on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at the East Java Studies Center, UNISMA Postgraduate Building.
“For a long time, NU has hoped that all universities within its network will achieve excellent accreditation,” said M. Mas’ud Said, Chair of ISNU East Java and Director of UNISMA Postgraduate Program, during his opening remarks.
In NU’s roadmap for its second century, higher education has become one of the priority sectors to be strengthened, alongside health services, cadre development, and organizational governance.
Therefore, achieving excellent accreditation has become a pressing need for all NU-affiliated universities today. ISNU East Java plans to provide assistance and guidance to help these institutions attain the top accreditation status.
“After this, we will move to other universities that are ready to host the program, with ISNU managing the resource persons. Within two years, they must achieve excellent accreditation,” said the Professor of Government Studies and graduate of Flinders University.
The workshop featured three speakers and drew strong interest from participants. The East Java Studies Center hall of UNISMA Postgraduate Program, which normally accommodates 70 people, filled with 105 participants.
The overwhelming turnout indicated a strong commitment among NU universities to achieve excellent accreditation as soon as possible.
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Chairman of East Java Regional Board of Nahdlatul Ulama, Abdul Hakim Mahfudz, emphasized that since its establishment by Hasyim Asy’ari, NU has consistently pursued transformation to respond to the challenges of changing times. According to Mahfudz popularly known as Gus Kikin, although NU was founded and led by Islamic scholars, the organization has never stopped evolving.
KH Abdul Hakim Mahfudz delivering his remarks before the attending leaders of NU-affiliated universities (PTNU).
Director of the Postgraduate School and Chairman of ISNU East Java, Prof. H. M. Mas’ud Said, Ph.D., delivering his remarks.
He explained that such transformation is essential to address social and intellectual developments. Religious sciences continue to be studied intensively with clear scholarly lineage, while general sciences are also taught in pesantren so that NU remains aligned with modern progress in accordance with the principle “al-muhafadzatu ‘alal qadimis sholih wal akhdzu bil jadidil ashlah,” which means preserving good traditions while adopting better innovations.
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Gus Kikin also encouraged universities to undertake similar transformations in order to remain relevant and achieve excellence.
“Hadratussyaikh (Hasyim Asy’ari) was deeply devoted to religious scholarship, but that did not mean ignoring national and civic responsibilities. Hopefully, participants will gain new insights to enrich their academic perspectives and support transformation in line with the demands of the times,” said the caretaker of Pondok Pesantren Tebuireng in Jombang.
The workshop organized by ISNU East Java featured three keynote speakers. The first two speakers, Maskuri, Rector of UNISMA, and Jazidie shared the success stories and best practices of their respective universities in achieving excellent accreditation. Meanwhile, Slamet Wahyu, a professor from Universitas Brawijaya, delivered guidelines to help NU universities reach the same accreditation status.
