May 10, 2025
Contributor: Supriyono | Editor: Dadi Darmadi | Photo: Achmad Jatnika
The two-day event brought together over a hundred participants, including scholars, educators, researchers, and students from Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and Hong Kong, who engaged in meaningful discussions on the intersection between assessment practices and equitable access to education.
In his opening remarks, UIII Rector Prof. Dr. Jamhari emphasized the university’s commitment to holistic education and its role in addressing global educational challenges. “As institutions of higher learning, our responsibilities reach far beyond the classroom. We must actively engage with society, build meaningful partnerships, and apply our academic strengths to help solve real-world issues and support national progress,” said Prof. Jamhari.
He also expressed gratitude to the keynote speakers, educational assessment experts Prof. Bahrul Hayat of UIII, Associate Professor Joanna Tai (Deakin University, Australia), and Prof. Yan Zi (The Education University of Hong Kong) for their valuable insights and contributions to the academic exchange.
Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. Nina Nurmila, provided an overview of the conference’s background, aligning it with the faculty’s core areas of concentration. “Our annual conference rotates around four key concentrations of our study programs,” she explained. “This year, we focus on Educational Assessment and Evaluation. Next year, we will revisit the theme of Education and Society.” She also highlighted how the conference serves multiple goals beyond academic dialogue.
“Our aim is to provide a platform for senior and junior scholars to share research, foster networking for future collaborations, promote our growing campus, and enhance the visibility of our journal Muslim Education Review (MER)—which is now SINTA 3 accredited and striving toward Scopus indexing,” said Prof. Nurmila.
Chair of the organizing committee, Dr. Destina Wahyu Winarti, underscored the theme’s relevance in light of global educational trends. “Assessment plays a significant role in measuring students’ learning performance and guiding educational decisions,” Dr. Winarti noted. “But equity ensures that all students—regardless of background—have access to the resources they need to succeed.”
She reported that after a rigorous peer-review process involving two external reviewers per submission, 54 papers were accepted and presented over the course of the conference. These contributions will have the opportunity to be published in the Muslim Education Review.
The opening ceremony also featured an international cultural performance by UIII students, celebrating the university’s commitment to diversity, and concluded with the announcement of awards for best lecturer, best student writing, and best paper submission. With this, the Faculty of Education’s conference has clearly established itself not only as a site of rigorous academic exchange but also as a welcoming space for global collaboration, cultural dialogue, and educational innovation.
Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia
