UINSA Newsroom, Thursday (30/11/2023); Four students from Sunan Ampel State Islamic University (UINSA) Surabaya have been selected to participate in the 2023 UINSA International Community Engagement program in Australia. The program is hosted at Madrasah Darul Ma’arif Perth, Western Australia, from November 30 to 16 Desember, 2023.
The selected students are Muhammad Maulana Ishaq from the Department of Da’wah Management, Faculty of Da’wah and Communication (FDK); Novita Vitria Dewi from the Department of English Literature Adab and Humanities (FAH); Javier Rizano Abhinaya from the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP); and Aisyah from the Department of English Education, Faculty of Education and Teaching (FTK).
Achmad Room Fitrianto, SE., M.E.I., MA., Ph.D., an alumnus of Murdoch University and Curtin University Western Australia, currently serving as the Vice Dean for Student Affairs and Cooperation at the Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business (FEBI), had the opportunity to provide guidance to the four selected students. This included information about the significantly different environment from Indonesia, transportation and its applications, as well as places that can be targeted for da’wah and residence while there. “Not forgetting the do’s and don’ts rules there, including queuing culture,” said Achmad Room.
Before departure, the four students were also introduced to Enie and her husband, program facilitators from Australia. During this opportunity, Enie presented an overview of the location in Perth and Australian culture in general. “They also recommend bringing moisturizer and sunblock for skin safety during the stay in Perth because the weather is relatively hot there. They also suggest buying soap there because it has ingredients that can better moisturize the skin while being there,” added Muhammad Maulana Ishaq, one of the student representatives.
Achmad Room also explained that the four students were given a special assignment to design a holiday preparation program for students at Madrasah Darul Ma’arif Perth, managed by NU residents in Western Australia. There are three types of assignments given, namely Daily Activities Report, Multimedia Report, and Draft of Community Service Journal Publication.
“InshaAllah, this program will become an annual program managed by UINSA’s LPPM. There has even been a request for Tarawih imams for Ramadan at several mosques in Western Australia before. Hopefully, in Ramadan 2024, that offer is still there, and UINSA can send hafiz students who are also proficient in English to participate,” explained Achmad Room.
Achmad Room hopes that this program becomes one form of UINSA’s integration into the Rahmatan Lil Alamin da’wah in Australia by sending its best students. “Communication with Madrasah Darul Ma’arif Perth, Western Australia, as a community partner, continues to be established and communicated with UINSA leadership, resulting in this program. May Allah facilitate all our affairs, Ameen,” said Achmad Room, who was also active in the NU PCI Australia New Zealand during his education there and also participated in initiating the madrasah. (*)
Editor: Nur Hayati
Photo Design: MN. Cahaya
