The International Conference on Religion, Science, and Education (ICRSE) 2025, combined with the Soft Opening of the Centre for Integrative–Interconnected Transformation (CIINTRA), was held on Wednesday, 3 December 2025 at the PAU Building, UIN Sunan Kalijaga. The program began with participant registration, opening remarks by the Master of Ceremony, and the recitation of the Indonesian national anthem, Qur’anic recitation, and a prayer.
Following the opening rituals, the Conference Chair, Dr. M. Ja’far Luthfi, delivered the committee report. He outlined the academic objectives of ICRSE 2025, emphasizing its role as a strategic forum for scholarly exchange, interdisciplinary dialogue, and international networking. He highlighted that integrating the soft opening of CIINTRA into ICRSE was a deliberate step to align the university’s academic events with its long-term vision of strengthening integrative–interconnected scholarship.
The core session of the event was the keynote directive delivered by the Rector of UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Prof. Noorhaidi Hasan, who officially opened ICRSE 2025 and initiated the soft opening of CIINTRA. In his address, the Rector delivered an extensive reflection on the rapidly evolving global landscape—marked by complex social changes, moral disruption, environmental crises, and the accelerating power of digital technologies. He underscored that in this era of unprecedented complexity, universities—especially Islamic higher education institutions—must move beyond producing knowledge and must cultivate wisdom, ethical orientation, and intellectual responsibility.
The Rector emphasized that UIN Sunan Kalijaga carries a long-standing intellectual tradition that does not treat religion as an isolated domain but as a source of values, ethics, and direction that can meaningfully engage with science, humanities, and technology. This philosophical foundation gave rise to the university’s signature framework of integrative–interconnected scholarship—a paradigm that encourages sustained dialogue between disciplinary perspectives. He stressed that this integration is not merely a slogan but a foundational commitment shaping academic policy, research development, and curriculum reform across the university.
In further elaborating the rationale behind CIINTRA, the Rector described it as a strategic academic engine designed to reinforce transdisciplinary research, foster experimental and innovative academic collaborations, and position UIN Sunan Kalijaga as a thought leader in responding to contemporary human challenges. CIINTRA, he stated, is envisioned as a platform that will enable scholars to work across boundaries, bringing together Islamic studies, social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, and emerging technologies to generate more comprehensive and future-oriented solutions.
The Rector also emphasized the importance of safeguarding academic dignity, asserting that integrative scholarship requires scholars who do not merely master their disciplines but who demonstrate moral sensitivity, intellectual humility, and openness to interdisciplinary engagement. CIINTRA, according to the Rector, is intended to cultivate such an academic ecosystem—one that moves scholars beyond routine academic activities toward deeper collaboration, reflection, and societal contribution.
After the Rector’s address and the symbolic inauguration of CIINTRA, CIINTRA Director, Prof. Dr. Eva Latipah, offered strengthened institutional alignment with the Rector’s vision. Rather than presenting a formal speech, the Director provided a strategic reinforcement of the Rector’s messages. She affirmed that CIINTRA’s programs will be grounded in the principles articulated by the Rector: integrative research across faculties, the development of interdisciplinary curricula, and the creation of international academic platforms. She stressed that CIINTRA is designed to function not as an additional bureaucratic unit but as the intellectual home for collaborative scholarship at UIN Sunan Kalijaga. Her remarks reinforced the Rector’s vision that integrative–interconnected scholarship must be expressed through real academic practices, concrete research agendas, and sustained international partnerships.
The event continued with a series of activities including the symbolic launching of CIINTRA, a group photo session, the international plenary lectures, cluster presentations, and the formulation of conference recommendations. The conference concluded at 17:00 in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and scholarly engagement.
These minutes highlight the three pivotal roles of the day: the Conference Chair as the coordinator of the event, the Rector as the visionary leader articulating the academic direction of UIN Sunan Kalijaga, and the CIINTRA Director as the institutional figure who strengthens, operationalizes, and advances the Rector’s vision through CIINTRA’s strategic programs.