Continuing their visit agenda in Surabaya and Malang, the Faculty of Islamic Studies (FDI) at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta conducted a benchmarking visit to the Graduate School (SPS) of Universitas Brawijaya on Friday, November 8, 2024. The event, held in the SPS meeting room at Universitas Brawijaya, was attended by 15 representatives from both FDI and Universitas Brawijaya.

The FDI delegation included Dr. Mu’min Rouf, MA (Vice Dean for General Administration), Willy Oktaviano, Lc., MA (Head of the Islamic Studies Master's Program), Dr. Aida Humaira, MA (Head of the Islamic Studies Program), Dr. Fatihunnada, MA (faculty representative), and Waskito Wibowo, S.S.I., MA (representative of academic staff). From Universitas Brawijaya, Dr. Nurul Badriyah, S.E., M.E., Vice Director for Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Alumni, and Cooperation, along with several other officials, including the Secretary of GJM, Coordinator of PSIK, Head of the Women's Studies Program, and the Head of Academic Affairs, were also present.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Mu’min Rouf expressed appreciation for the opportunity to build ties with Universitas Brawijaya. He explained that the visit aimed to learn how Universitas Brawijaya, as a public university, manages its double degree program, with the hope that FDI can integrate the experiences gained from UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya and Universitas Brawijaya.

Willy Oktaviano, Lc., MA, Head of the Islamic Studies Master's Program, added that FDI’s history began as a double degree program resulting from cooperation between UIN Jakarta and Al-Azhar University. This program was originally part of a distance learning initiative by Al-Azhar for its faculty. However, due to regulatory changes, FDI eventually grew into the sixth faculty at UIN Jakarta.

Dr. Nurul Badriyah, S.E., M.E., representing Universitas Brawijaya, shared several programs that the university has implemented to support international cooperation and the double degree program. She explained that Universitas Brawijaya runs a “3 in 1” program, where each course involves a guest professor, a practitioner, and the course instructor. This program is organized by the International Office (IO), in close cooperation and supervision from each study program, with funding agreed upon through a 2:1 scheme between the faculty and the university.

Additionally, Universitas Brawijaya’s DoKar (Lecturer in Action) program encourages lecturers to engage in international collaborations to foster research and development. In this program, lecturers are given the freedom to establish cooperation agreements (MoA) with foreign institutions. Since 2021, the study programs have been responsible for DoKar, including involving Brawijaya lecturers with international institutions.

Dr. Nurul emphasized that both of these programs are key precursors to establishing a double degree partnership at Universitas Brawijaya. She suggested that FDI consider starting with this model while continuing to refine their double degree program plans for the future.