Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto (UMP) continues to spread its wings. In its 58 years, UMP provides wider opportunities for various groups to get a higher education. One of them is by providing scholarships for musicians.

UMP Rector, Assoc Prof. Dr. Jebul Suroso said, as a pilot project, they provided scholarships to two Hyndia Band personnel. Hyndia Band is a band from Purwokerto City that is on the rise. According to him, anyone who produces the best work is necessary to get appreciation. “Currently, in our observation, Hyndia Band is the best young rising band in Purwokerto. So we provide scholarship opportunities for their personnel,” said the Rector, during an iftar event, last Thursday (6/4).

The Rector further explained, although entering half a century, UM Purwokerto is getting younger. One of them is the determination to become a smart university. There is a conventional transformation towards smart education, among others by continuing to improve online learning. In addition, the management has supported, adapted towards the current condition.

“Currently, UMP is ranked the 27th best university in Asean and we are also heading towards excellence accreditation. We continue to strive to increase study programs to be excellence in accreditation and currently, we have more than 70 percent,” explained the Rector.

 

International Students

The slogan “UMP Mendunia” is also increasingly accomplished with 1,800 foreign students who are studying at UMP. In fact, UM Purwokerto currently provides 5,800 seats. “UMP is everywhere, in the near future, we will open campuses in Tegal and Pangandaran. We also have students from Toli-Toli, which not many people even know where Toli-Toli is. Not long ago, UMP was also informed in the largest newspaper in China, because there was a barongsai (lion dance) in the opening of the UMP Ramadan market, “said the Rector.

On this occasion, there was also UM Purwokerto hymn launching with a re-arrangement by Hyndia Band. The vocalist of Hyndia Band, Ingtise, said that she was very proud to be able to get a scholarship and become part of a big family of UM Purwokerto. Ingtise, who has completed her bachelor’s degree in Law, plans to take a master’s degree in Management at UM Purwokerto. “I highly appreciate UMP for giving scholarships to me and my colleagues in Hyndia Band. This is a rare opportunity and it seems there is only one university that provides scholarships specifically for the band members,” she said.

Universitas Muhammadiyah Tasikmalaya (UMTAS) received a visit from student representatives (Student Council) from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) for comparative studies between student organizations. The students from UMT conducted a comparative study visit in order to carry out a program entitled “Intervarsity Leadership Program”. The students from UMT consisted of Nurin Faqihah, Shazleen, Nur Amirah, Nur Syamimi, Ahmad Rusyaidi, Ameerul Iskandar, Brendon Vun, Firdaus Nazri, Syafiq Rafaie, and Umar.

The UMT Student Affairs coordinated with UMTAS International Affairs Office (KUI) and International Office (IO) team consisting of the Chairperson, Aceng Sambas, Ph.D, assisted by his members, Sulidar Fitri, M.Sc and Miftahul Falah, MSN in their activities for 2 days at UMTAS. On the first day on March 12, 2023, a discussion session was held between UMT student representatives and all Student Associations (HIMA) in all Study Programs and Faculty as well as representatives of the UMTAS Student Executive Board (BEM). The discussion elaborated several things including what are the specific tasks in each executive organization, how to handle problems that arise among students both in general at the study program, faculty and university levels, how the involvement of student representative organizations in the institutional meeting, and how to carry out management in academic matters for each executive member of the BEM and HIMA organizations.

On the second day, March 13, 2023, UMT student representatives were welcomed by the Chancellor, Vice Chancellors I and II, Faculties and Study Program Boards as well as several lecturers. UMTAS Rector, Dr. Ahmad Qonit AD, MA. delivered a welcome speech for UMT students and hoped that they could enjoy their visit and gain extraordinary experiences while in Indonesia. Likewise, UMT also delivered speeches by Nurin Faqihah as Program Director, Academic and International Exco of Student Representative Assembly (MPP) UMT 2021/2022. UMTAS hoped that in the future they can collaborate more for the joint program of both institutions and students. After the university leaders session on March 13, 2023, the UMT student representatives also participated in a traditional dance introduction workshop, namely the Tasikmalaya Geulis Payung Dance, which was guided by a team from the UMTAS Sendratasik Study Program. After that workshop, they continued to visit tourist attractions in Kampung Naga Tasikmalaya to get to know more about Sundanese culture.

The Council for Higher Education Research and Development (CHERD) of Muhammadiyah Central Board held a seminar related to the Joint Selection for Muhammadiyah Aisyiyah Universities Entrance (SBMPTMu) at SMA 1 Muhammadiyah Bandung, Tuesday (04/04). It also collaborated with Universitas Muhammadiyah Bandung (UM Bandung) and Universitas ‘Aisyiyah (Unisa) Bandung. SBMPTMu is a joint selection conducted by MHEIs to facilitate prospective students who are interested in continuing their studies at MHEIs.

 

Muhammad Samsudin, Deputy Secretary of the CHERD, on SBMPTMu Seminar

Muhammad Samsudin, Deputy Secretary of the CHERD, said that currently there are 171 universities in Indonesia and 1 university in Malaysia. Of the 171 MHEIs, 122 campuses participated and joined SBMPTMu. In the SBMPTMu, the prospective students can choose 4 study programs from 200 total of choices of study programs provided. It is the sixth year and will continue to be developed and updated. “In the past, if you wanted to register for college, you had to come in person. However, not anymore. Just register once, you can choose four study programs. It is more effective,” he explained.

By the activity, the program can provide opportunities for high school, vocational school, and islamic high school students that are far more diverse and not focused on just one MHEI. “Don’t be afraid to continue your education in college even though it is far away. Today, millennials are able to study easily without problems of distance and time,” he explained.

Dr. Didik Suhardi, the Chairman of the Council for Primary and Secondary Education, who was also presented at the event, agreed that the activity can provide a lot of information for prospective students. The students can easily discover their respective interests and talents in 122 MHEIs spread across Indonesia. “I hope SBMPTMu will be a medium for the best Muhammadiyah cadres to be able to continue the successes that have been obtained by our great predecessors,” he concluded.

The activity entitled “One SBMPTMu for Indonesia” was also attended by three speakers, namely Mawardi as the SBMPTMu committee, Irianti Usman as a lecturer in the UM Bandung Psychology study program, Abdul Rozak as the Head of the Unisa Bandung International Trade study program, with different presentation topics. The 2023 SBMPTMu registration is divided into two batches. The first wave of registration has been opened since November 18, 2022 to May 12, 2023. More information about SBMPTMu can be found at https://sbmptmu.id/.

The Library of Universitas Muhammadiyah Maluku Utara, on Wednesday (05/04), held a meeting with the Founder and Developer of the Senayan Library Management System (SLiMS) Application, Hendru Wicaksono for IT-based library development with SLiMS. This meeting was facilitated by UMMU ICT Coordinator, Erwin Gunawan S Kom MT. Also presented on this occasion among others the Head of Library, ICT Coordinator, and UMMU Librarian Staff located at UMMU Library Building C.

SLiMS is a library management system software based on the web application developed by a team from the Information and Public Relations Center of the Ministry of Education, Republic of Indonesia that is commonly used for book management, membership, borrowing and returning.

The functions were conveyed directly by Hendru Wicaksono accompanied by the Head and library staff and the UMMU ICT coordinator in an interview with the UMMU Public Relations Team. “The UMMU Library will use the software that my team and I developed, SLiMS, to manage books, membership, loans, returns and can store thesis and dissertation data, all of which can be stored in SLiMS,” he said.

The Library Development Program that has been designed since 2006 aimed to manage the Library of National Education Department in Jakarta but along with the development and utilization of the SLiMS Program, it began to be used in various library institutions to universities in Indonesia. “In Indonesia, the majority of libraries use SLIMS, that also includes Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisiyiah educational institutions that also use SLiMS for managing their libraries. However, for personal use, the user only needs to install via smartphones that can be used directly for free,” he said.

Another support obtained is that students can directly access the UMMU library to browse the book collection only through a smartphone. “Students can easily access and search various book collections in the library through their cell phones. We hoped that SLIMS can be implemented properly so that it can provide better services in supporting the academic community at UMMU,” he continued.

Universitas ‘Aisyiyah (Unisa) Bandung supports one of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs (Kemenko) programs of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) in increasing the acceleration of inclusive finance. Unisa Bandung organized an inclusive finance workshop for Muhammadiyah youth in collaboration with Kemenko, ‘Aisyiyah Provincial Board (PWA) in West Java and several partners from State–owned Enterprises (BUMN) and Regionally-owned Enterprises (BUMD) at Campus 2 Unisa Bandung, Friday (31/03).

The Deputy for Macroeconomic and Financial Coordination and Secretary of the National Council for Inclusive Finance, Dr. Fery Irawan, S.E., MSE said Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah have a strategic role in supporting inclusive finance.

“The strategic role of Muhammadiyah and ‘Aisyiyah in supporting inclusive finance is very effective and real, including in education/socialization, empowerment, financing, and consumer protection carried out in the Muhammadiyah MSME cluster in Yogyakarta and Central Java, Muhammadiyah Youth Regional Board in Bogor and Lampung, as well as the UMJ and Universitas ‘Aisyiyah Bandung academic civitas ,” said Ferry.

Ferry also explained that in accelerating financial inclusion, Indonesia faces the obstacle of a low level of financial literacy of 49.68%, so that many people use financial services without adequate knowledge and are trapped in illegal financial institutions.

“Therefore, accelerating financial inclusion in Indonesia requires solid coordination and synergy with all parties. I hope this forum does not end today, but instead becomes the first step in developing an ecosystem or policy that encourages collaboration,” said Ferry.

The workshop invited several speakers from BUMN, BUMD and Majelis Dakwah Islamiyah that was attended by more than 100 participants from the Unisa Bandung academic civitas, Muhammadiyah Youth, and various representatives of Aisyiyah Provincial Board in West Java.

On this occasion, several partners also provided educational support for Unisa Bandung including Jamkrindo that provides laptop facilities worth for Rp. 15,000,000 and PT Pegadaian Syariah providing gold savings worth for Rp.250,000 to Unisa Bandung.

STKIP Muhammadiyah Blora through Primary School Teacher Education (PGSD) Study Program distributed iftar for the local community. This activity was initiated by the Academic Civitas of STKIP Muh Blora and became one of its programs in the holy month of Ramadan.

On this occasion, the person in charge of the activity, Husna Imro’atush Sholihah, M.Li said that this activity will be held once a week in Ramadan to practice a good deed in the month full of blessings and promote the campus to broader communities.  “The activity can also be a socialization of the STKIP Muhammadiyah Blora, especially the PGSD Study Program to the community”, she said.

The iftar distribution was carried out in front of the integrated campus and will be carried out once a week on Friday during Ramadan. It became one strengthening bond program for others, especially in the month of Ramadan and as a spirit of competing in goodness.

On  Husna added that the iftar distribution was carried out by students by distributing 150 Free Iftar Packages. Yunia, one who received iftar, said she was grateful for  the free iftar distribution.

“Thank you to the students of STKIP Muhammadiyah Blora who care and volunteer to distribute iftar in the holy month of Ramadan,” she said. “Hopefully, you will receive blessings and abundance of sustenance from God Almighty, achieve all your goals, increasingly exist in the community, and always in the hearts of the community,” she said.

The Council for Higher Education, Research, and Development (CHERD) began a series of Research Dissemination Discussions of Risetmu Grants in 2023. In the first series, the main topic was “Islamic and Muhammadiyah Studies” which invited Dr. Solihul Huda MFil from UM Surabaya, Anang Masduki MA from Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, and M. Subhi Aprianto Lc MH from UM Surakarta. Dr. Dra Tri Yuni Hendrowati MPd was also present as a panelist and Luqman Hakim as the moderator.

Also presenting on the discussion, the Deputy Chairman of CHERD, Prof. Dr. Khudzaifah Dimyati deliver remarks. He emphasized the spirit of RisetMu as an endeavor of the Council to raise the research of MHEI lecturers which could later have an impact on improving the accreditation. “I hope RisetMu and the Research Grant Discussion Series can be a solution to improve the work ethic of lecturers in research,” he said. 

 

RisetMu Research Grant Discussion of “Islamic and Muhammadiyah Studies”

First, M Subhi Aprianto Lc MH disseminated his research entitled “Bibliometric Analysis of the Map and Direction of Muhammadiyah Research Development on the Scopus Database”. Subhi Aprianto said that the urgency of this research is to provide exposure to Scopus data so that several aspects are obtained. These aspects include research demographics, the most influential affiliations, the most cited sources, and the most productive first author. “For example, in the demographic details, it was revealed that most of the research was located in Indonesia and Malaysia,” he explained.

Second, Anang Masduki MA mentioned his book, Ngenger: Dari Komunikasi  antar Budaya menuju Transformasi Ideologi (Ngenger: From Intercultural Communication to Ideological Transformation) as the core of his presentation entitled “The Paradigm of Authentic Islam”. Anang highlighted the main point of the spirit of tajdid (renewal) in authentic Islamic moderation. “They did the purification by building a synthesis between religious and cultural values without damaging the faith,” he said.

Third, Dr. Solihul Huda MFil shared his observations on social media. Two things about social media that Dr. Solihul highlighted were the concerns about non-factual information and the possibility of social media becoming a medium for spreading social religious ideologies, whether liberal, radical or moderate. “It responds to the development of a digital world in society, including in religious activities such as da’wah. It became the background for the formation of Muhammadiyah digital da’wah,” he explained. Dr. Solihul’s research output is a book entitled Dakwah Digital Muhammadiyah: Pola Baru Dakwah Era Disrupsi (Digital Da’wah Muhammadiyah: New Patterns of Da’wah in the Era of Disruption).

The series was held on Monday (27/3) and will continue on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Ramadan through Zoom Meeting and live broadcasts on the YouTube channel of Majelis Diktilitbang.

Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) held an Open Session for the Promotion of the Doctoral Program of Islamic Religious Education, on Tuesday (21/3). The momentum also marked the increasing number of doctoral graduates at UMS.

Promovendus Suwardi, who is also the chairman of the Daily Advisory Board (BPH) of Universitas Muhammadiyah Madiun (UMMAD), presented his dissertation results entitled “Methods and Assessment of Tahfeez ul Quran in Islamic Elementary Schools: Case Studies in Three SDITs”, in the Seminar Room of the 5th floor of Postgraduate Building, UMS. This open session was promoted by Prof. Dr. Endang Fauziati, M. Hum with Dr. Syamsul Hidayat, M. Ag. as Co-Promoter.

This session also invited several external examiners, Prof. Dr. Giyoto, M. Ag. from Raden Mas Said Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Surakarta, as well as three other internal examiners namely Prof. Dr. Musa Asy’arie, then Prof. Dr. Marwan Effendy, Ph.D., and Prof. Dr. Watson, M.Hum.

The Chair of the Academic Senate, Prof. Dr. Sofyan Anif, M.Si., read out the results of the open examination with a 3.77 Grade Point Average (GPA) and received Cumlaude predicate, and a specialist degree as a Doctorate in Tahfiz Method.

Prof. Endang, as the promoter, expressed her pride in Dr. Suwardi’s achievement and advised him to constantly work in writing and research. “Of course, as a scientist, the development of science is in your hands. You must continue to write, research and make various efforts to continue to develop according to your field of specification.”

In his speech, Prof. Sofyan Anif advised Suwardi to continuously commit specifically to the Muhammadiyah and contribute to the country. “It is not just a commitment, we must show that it will be our strength, especially to scientists regarding the Tahfiz learning method, this is very useful. On the one hand, we can contribute to the organization (Muhammadiyah), on the other hand, of course this is one of our contributions for developing the nation and state,” said Prof. Sofyan Anif. He also asked that publishing his dissertation results would further refine the research results of Dr. Suwardi.

Institute of Technology, Science and Health (ITS) PKU Muhammadiyah Surakarta held an Open Session of Academic Senate in order to confer the 30th Commencement of Undergraduate programs at The Alana Hotel Ballroom, Colomadu, Karanganyar on Saturday (18/3). On this occasion, the Rector officially graduated 183 students. ITS PKU Muhammadiyah Surakarta Rector, Weni Hastuti, M.Kes, Ph.D mentioned the 183 graduates consisted of 174 graduates from Faculty of Health consisting of 160 graduates of Nursing Science and 14 graduates from Nutrition. “Furthermore, from the Faculty of Science and Technology, as many as 9 graduates from Electromedical Engineering,” she said in her remarks, Saturday (18/3).

She believed that ITS PKU Muhammadiyah graduates were able to adapt to the rapid advancement. According to her, it is in line with the university vision to build the character of Progressive Islam. She added that there have been dozens of awards received by the campus she leads. Some of them became the best health campus in the Solo Best Brand & Innovation Awards 2023.

“We were named as the Best Higher Education Institution for Health Science twice on the Solo Best Brand & Innovation Awards 2023 award. And in the PKM Award, we were named as the Best College in Cluster 5. Our 5 students followed the Kampus Mengajar program initiated by the Ministry of Education and Culture,” said the Rector of ITS PKU Muhammadiyah. “In addition, we became the Best College in Cluster 5 on PKM award from the Ministry of Education and Culture and became the winner and grantees of a research grant from the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of learning innovation in 2022,” she added.

She also mentioned the current goal of ITS PKU Muh Surakarta was to develop Campus II with the Holding Business Concept on Adi Sumarmo Street, Solo. Weni targeted the development to be realized this year. Weni also advised the graduates that success, apart from being determined by academic ability, is also determined by maturity, behavior, independence, and hard work. “The community and the nation are waiting for your contribution. It is one of the mandates of our degrees,” she said.

Also attending on this occasion, the Chairman of the Daily Advisory Board (BPH), Prof. Dr. Sofyan Hanif, M.Si; the Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Regional Leadership of Solo, K.H. Subari; and several directors of Solo hospitals. The Chairman of BPH ITS PKU Muhammadiyah Solo, Sofyan Hanif, said that the graduates should remember that the graduation moment is not the end of the struggle but a temporary stop. “This means that the world in the future will continuously change. We cannot just be satisfied with knowledge on campus. With the rapid development of science and technology, we must be responsive,” she said. Furthermore, ITS PKU Muhammadiyah Surakarta graduates must be willing to commit to serve in the broader community.

The Communication and Information Office (Diskominfo) of Bandung Regency & detikJabar collaboratively organized Bandung Smart City Road To Campus on Unisa Bandung, this activity was conducted at the Second Campus of Unisa Bandung, Palasari Street 9A Bandung, Wednesday (03/15). The Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) Unisa Bandung, Achyar Riyadh.M.Sn welcomed the visit. “The activity becomes an implementation of the Hexahelix concept, where it becomes a collaborative program between academics, communities, society, government, and mass media,” Achyar said after the event, Wednesday (03/15).

Achyar also mentioned the aim of the Bandung Smart City Road to Campus event on Unisa Bandung was to develop and improve non-academic competencies for students. “We hope that the program will be continued not only on this current event,” Achyar concluded.

The program also invited various speakers, including Kang Ganjar Setya Pribadi – Sub Coordinator of Technology Evaluation in KOMINFO Bandung and Kang Baban Ganda Purnama – Chief Editor of detikJabar. On this occasion, the speaker from @diskominfobdg, Kang Ganjar Setya explained about Bandung Sadayana Super Apps and Bandung Smart City Program. Meanwhile, Kang Baban from @detikjabar explained about Journalism, Social Media, Search Engine Filtering and several problem solving through open source that were commonly used by the Public.