When the Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII) opened its doors in 2021, few people could have imagined how deeply a new campus in Depok would shape the lives of its first students. For me, UIII was not just where I earned a degree. It was where I fell in love with learning and where my intellectual journey truly began.

My name is Aldi Nur Fadil Auliya, and I was part of UIII’s inaugural cohort. When the university was still building its traditions from scratch, I was accepted into the Master’s program in Political Science, specializing in Comparative Politics, on a full UIII scholarship. In the same year, I also received the prestigious Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) scholarship. Many would have chosen a more established institution. Instead, I took what felt like a gamble on UIII.

What I saw was rare: an extraordinary faculty, an ambitious academic vision, and a national strategic project supported at the presidential level. That unconventional decision turned out to be the most pivotal turning point in my life.

Before joining UIII, I studied law and my background shaped by years of student activism. My dream was straightforward: to become a politician and engage directly in practical politics. That ambition led me to pursue an MA in political science. However, true political science, with its grand theories, comparative research, and rigorous methodology, was not my native academic language. Hence, I truly learned political science during my MA at UIII.

The transition was challenging. I had to catch up on literature, adapt to unfamiliar concepts, and rebuild the way I thought. Yet this was precisely where UIII’s role became transformative. The curriculum, faculty, and academic environment did not leave me struggling alone. Instead, they made the shift possible and deeply supported. Gradually, I moved from being an “outsider” in the discipline to someone who genuinely belonged in the world of political science scholarship.

From the beginning, UIII was designed as an international university—not just in name, but in practice. In class, I learned alongside students from many countries, each bringing different social, cultural, and intellectual perspectives. Discussions rarely stopped at “how Indonesia sees this issue”; they expanded to how the world sees it. Informal conversations in the cafeteria, group work, and daily interactions quietly reshaped my worldview. What once felt abstract in textbooks became lived experience.

Perhaps the most profound transformation happened slowly. Long nights of reading theory, revising papers again and again, and discussing ideas with professors and peers changed how I saw myself. Somewhere along that journey, I realized I had fallen in love with learning itself. UIII did not simply give me academic credentials. It reshaped my aspirations. I no longer wanted only to enter politics; I wanted to live as a scholar, dedicated to research, writing, and teaching.

UIII’s greatest strength, in my experience, lies in its faculty. Many are graduates of leading universities abroad, with strong research records and global networks. Yet what mattered most was their willingness to guide students patiently from the very beginning. Coming from a law and activism background, I arrived with many gaps. Instead of judgment, I found a safe academic space—one where questions were welcomed, drafts were carefully critiqued, and students were consistently pushed to think deeper. Their mentorship extended beyond the classroom, shaping my confidence and intellectual discipline.

Now in my first year of pursuing a PhD in Political Science at the Department of Political Science, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, State University of New York at Albany, supported by a Fulbright Doctoral Program Scholarship, I am more convinced than ever that UIII is the irreplaceable foundation of this journey.

Looking back, I realize that UIII was not merely the place where my academic journey started. It was the place where my identity transformed. It is here—at UIII—where my intellectual journey truly began.
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*) Alumnus of Faculty of Social Sciences, UIII, who is now pursuing a PhD in Political Science at the Department of Political Science, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, State University of New York at Albany, supported by a Fulbright Doctoral Program Scholarship

Read more: From Depok to New York: How UIII Prepared Me for a U.S. PhD