Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) will soon be 42 years old. Various series of events in celebrating UMY’s anniversary have also been organized. One of the agendas is a night of reflection which was just held on Tuesday (28/02) at the UMY KH. Ahmad Dahlan mosque with the theme “42 Years of UMY, Be Persistent in Work and Achievement”.
The Rector of UMY, Prof. Dr. Ir. Gunawan Budiyanto, M.P., IPM. ASEAN. Eng in his speech said that the night of reflection became a moment to remember the struggle of UMY establishment figures. “The night of reflection is held the night before March 1 every year as a moment for UMY academics to remember the establishment figures of UMY. It aimed to raise UMY academics’ understanding to continue their struggles,” said Gunawan.
Gunawan also revealed in his speech that UM Yogyakarta will be deeply committed to continue the struggle of UMY establishment figures to gain its goal to be an excellent and best campus. Gunawan also hopes that UMY will be able to produce the best Muhammadiyah cadres who contribute to the nation.
“UMY hopes to be able to produce the best Muhammadiyah cadres who will contribute to the nation. From 2020, UMY sent lecturers to Europe to study with full scholarships from UM Yogyakarta. It aimed to increase the capacity of lecturers and also improve the academic quality of UM Yogyakarta. Currently, various UMY alumni and lecturers have important roles in government agencies, from ambassadors to heads of law enforcement agencies such as the Judicial Commission,” he continued.
One of the initiators of the establishment figures, Drs. H.M. Alfian Darmawan, on the same occasion, said that he never dreamed that UMY could become a large campus with varied achievements. “In the past, UMY had no buildings. We even rented a 6×30 shop on Ahmad Dahlan Street which is currently a perfume shop. We also borrowed Muhammadiyah 1 High School for the class. In the second year of UMY’s establishment, we only received less than 100 applicants. Seeing UMY which is currently huge, we are very grateful, because we didn’t even dream of it before. I am proud of UMY which is increasingly developed and qualified,” he explained.
He prompted the academic civitas to enthusiastically continue the advancement. “I never imagined before that UM Yogyakarta would become a large university and have the same quality as well-known state universities. Undoubtedly, it cannot be separated from the struggle and hard work of all of us, but it should not stop here because we have to improve UM Yogyakarta, and we should remember that UM Yogyakarta was established to educate the future cadres of Muhammadiyah leaders and national figures,” he said.
Dr. KH Tafsir, MAg, the Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Provincial Board in Central Java explained that in 42 years of human age, it enters maturity. It has great wisdom. He hoped that UM Yogyakarta will continue to produce a real contribution to society and also to the international world. He also said that the achievement was from the consistency to continue on the path formed by its founders.
“The achievements achieved by UM Yogyakarta certainly cannot be separated from the role of UM Yogyakarta’s predecessors. It is also a result of persistence to continually be in the ideas that have been formed by previous predecessors,” he continued when presenting an oration.
In line with Dr. K.H. Tafsir, M.Ag, the Chairman of the UM Yogyakarta Daily Advisory Board (BPH), Dr. H. Agung Danarto, M.Ag advised to be consistent and improve the achievements to bring UMY to another milestone. On the same occasion, UM Yogyakarta also provided free Umrah for 45 UM Yogyakarta employees and distributed door prizes with the main prizes of 2 motorbikes and a refrigerator.
