Good news came from Taiwan. Bayu Mitra A. Kusuma, S.AP., M.AP., M.Pol.Sc., one of the lecturers at the Faculty of Da'wah and Communication of UIN Sunan Kalijaga who is currently studying there, received the Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society of the Republic of China (R.O.C) award. The award was given through a ceremony along with the student commencement agenda (24/5). In the ceremony, Phi Tau Phi was presented by the President of National Dong Hwa University, the university where Bayu studied for his doctorate.

In R.O.C or Taiwan, Phi Tau Phi is a prestigious award because it is seen as a recognition of significant academic achievement and leadership potential. Institutionally, Phi Tau Phi was founded in 1921 by Joseph H. Ehlers, an American professor who taught at Peiyang University (now Tianjin University). The society aims to encourage scholarship, stimulate research, recognize academic achievement, and foster strong bonds of intellectual and professional brotherhood. The society has admitted approximately 70,000 members in more than a hundred years of existence.

In historical records, after the R.O.C nationalist government retreated to Taiwan following the civil war in mainland China, the society had stopped all its activities. However, the society's activities were resumed in 1964 at the request of its members. The spirit carried by the Phi Tau Phi award is Philosophia (the mother of all sciences), Technologia (applied science), and Physiologia (theoretical science), which collectively represent all disciplines of learning in higher education.

To receive the Phi Tau Phi award and membership, candidates must be recommended by a leading university in Taiwan with several criteria, namely the top 1% of undergraduate graduands, the top 3% of master's graduands, and the top 10% of doctoral graduands or candidates who excel in academic performance and moral behavior, as well as prominent alumni of the university who have made significant contributions to academic research or social change movements. Membership in Phi Tau Phi is permanent, lifelong, and does not require renewal or payment.

For Bayu, Phi Tau Phi is not the first award he has received during his doctoral studies. Previously, he won awards as Best Participant in the Online Short Course on Austronesian Studies organized by Diponegoro University (2022), Best Writer in the PPI Edufest Writing Contest organized by the Overseas Indonesian Students Association Alliance (2023), and Best Presenter at the 5th Indonesian Scholars Scientific Summit held at the National Taipei University of Technology (2023).

Bayu's achievement is expected to inspire the entire academic community of UIN Sunan Kalijaga. Furthermore, the university leadership encouraged Bayu to immediately complete his studies at the Ph.D. Program in Asia-Pacific Regional Studies, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, NDHU Taiwan. The dissertation research on the Indonesian migrant workers' repatriation that Bayu is currently completing will be very beneficial for the development of science at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, especially related to the issues of international migration and diaspora