A total of 50 parents/guardians of the inaugural cohort of UIN Sunan Kalijaga's Medical Study Program attended a Parents' Meeting held in the 4th-Floor Theatrical Hall of the Faculty of Medicine building. The gathering was part of a series of academic and student-life orientation activities and served as an initial space to bring students' families together with the academic environment that will accompany their children's educational journey.

The event was attended by UIN Sunan Kalijaga Vice Rector for General Administration, Planning, and Finance, Prof. Dr. Mochamad Sodik; Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, dr. Murtafiqoh Hasanah; Vice Dean III, Prof. Imam Machali; along with the leadership and lecturers of the Medical Study Program.

For the Faculty of Medicine, this gathering carried a meaning beyond a simple welcoming event. It marked the beginning of a relationship that is expected to keep growing among the faculty, the study program, students, and their families.

Committee Chair, dr. Erna, said the meeting was designed to strengthen bonds and build synergy among the study program, the faculty, students, and their parents/guardians.

“Medical education is not an easy process. Its challenges are significant and require shared support,” she said.

She noted that student success cannot rest on the educational institution alone. Parental support plays an essential role in helping students stay on track through every stage of their education until completion.

The hope, she said, is simple yet significant: that students will be able to go through the educational process well, continue on to the professional (clinical) stage, and eventually complete their studies together as one cohort.

For Vice Rector II, Prof. Mochamad Sodik, the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine marks an important chapter in the journey of UIN Sunan Kalijaga. He described the presence of the 50 students in the inaugural cohort as part of a history now being written together.

He said that in building the Faculty of Medicine, UIN Sunan Kalijaga has learned a great deal from other, more established medical faculties. However, this process should not be understood merely as imitation, but rather as an effort to shape the faculty's own character through the principles of mutuality (kesalingan) and humanity.

According to him, these principles align with UIN Sunan Kalijaga's long journey in building a university with a broad scholarly mandate.

He recalled a time when debate arose over the future of IAIN Sunan Kalijaga, whether it should remain an institute or develop into a university. The choice to become a university carried with it the consequence of an increasingly universal scholarly mandate.

“That transformation later gave rise to new faculties, including the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Within that framework, the presence of the Faculty of Medicine is seen as part of the effort to expand UIN Sunan Kalijaga's contribution in the fields of scholarship and humanity,” he said.

Prof. Mochamad Sodik then recalled an important phase in UIN Sunan Kalijaga's history. Behind the transformation of IAIN into a university, he said, was a figure who played a major role in laying the intellectual foundation for that change: Prof. Amin Abdullah, who served two terms as Rector of UIN Sunan Kalijaga.

“In my view, Prof. Amin Abdullah's standing goes beyond that of a professor; he is a true scholarly authority (begawan). He also serves as an advisor at BPIP (Pancasila Ideology Development Agency) and AIPI (Indonesian Academy of Sciences). He was the one who designed how IAIN became UIN, and who formulated the core values of UIN Sunan Kalijaga that remain our foundation to this day,” he said.

One of those values is integrative-interconnective. Knowledge, he said, does not always need to be fused into one. At times, different disciplines need to be placed side by side, allowed to interact, and allowed to reinforce one another, forming a coherent whole.

Other core values include dedicative and innovative. This spirit, he said, should not remain merely an institutional agenda, but must enter the personal space of every member of the academic community.

The same applies to the spirit of inclusiveness and continuous improvement. UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta aims to keep growing as a university open to all.

Within that educational space, diversity is not seen as an obstacle. Students from a wide range of backgrounds, including students with disabilities, can grow and learn together.

Yet this openness does not mean abandoning the Islamic roots that form UIN Sunan Kalijaga's identity. He emphasized the importance of maintaining hadorotun nash, mastery and deep understanding of religious texts.

Alongside that is hadorotul falsafah, a tradition of reflection and philosophical thought that pushes students not merely to memorize values, but to understand and live them out in daily life.

This includes Pancasila, which he said should not simply be memorized, but must become a living ideology, values that are present and active in everyday life.

That message ultimately converged on one point: that the journey of medical students is a shared journey.

“Medical education takes a long time and requires perseverance, discipline, and endurance. That is why families and the educational institution need to stand together to support students through every stage. We also ask for prayers and input so that the Faculty of Medicine can keep growing into a professional faculty, always under the grace of Allah Swt.,” he concluded.

The Parents' Meeting for the Inaugural Cohort marked the starting point of synergy between the university and families in accompanying the journey of 50 students toward becoming doctors. From the 4th-Floor Theatrical Hall of the Faculty of Medicine, the long journey of the first generation of UIN Sunan Kalijaga's Faculty of Medicine has begun. They are expected not only to earn the title of doctor, but to grow into healthcare professionals who are professional, innovative, inclusive, and committed to the cause of humanity. (humassk)