Talking about alumni means talking about the end result of a long learning process, in the form of outcomes about positive reciprocal success towards higher education. In this case, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta held an Alumni Award which is held annually as a token of appreciation for UMY alumni who have netted proud achievements. This year, the UMY Outstanding Alumni Award was received by an alumnus from the Islamic Communication and Broadcasting Study Program, Faculty of Islamic Sciences in 2001, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Khairil, S.Ag., M.Si. This award was given in the UMY 2020 Alumni Awards Award Night which was held semi online, on Friday (14/8) in the courtyard of the AR Fachruddin building, UMY Central Campus.
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Khairil is the first UMY alumnus to receive the title of Professor in Communication Science. The title of Professor was obtained in accordance with a decree issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture on April 1, 2020. “Alhamdulillah, this year, in accordance with the decree from the ministry of education and culture as of April 1, 2020, I was declared as Professor of Communication Sciences. , “Said the Dean of Political Science, Universitas Tadulako, Central Sulawesi.
Muhammad Khairil also explained about several studies he had consistently performed in the field of Communication Sciences. He discussed the study of terrorism communication that he had done since his bachelor years at UMY. By researching radical Islamic groups, from the emergence of radicalism thought to movements or actions that use a religious ideological approach to justify acts of terrorism, especially in Central Sulawesi, Poso. “The research I did were largely about terrorism communication. I also wrote a book entitled Communication Resolution which contains the results of my research for approximately 7 to 8 years since my master’s degree, which examines the effects of media on terrorism reporting. Then, when I entered my doctorate, I studied terrorism criminal cases in Central Sulawesi, and from those several research results, I wrote my book,” he explained when contacted Monday (17/8).
Furthermore, Muhammad Khairil also shared his motivation as a professional teacher which made him become a Professor of Communication Science, from his lecturers’ advice when he was studying at UMY. “I continued my studies until I became a professor. From the beginning, I dream of becoming a professional teacher and develop a career in the world of education. On campus, I tried to make the best of my abilities. When I was at UMY, what became my motivation to continue my studies was my conversations with a lecturer named Mrs. Bahiroh, who was my supervisor at that time and directed me to continue my studies to take at UNPAD Bandung. But when I finished at UMY, I worked part time as a lecturer at Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar and then I had the opportunity to continue my Master’s studies at UNHAS Makassar. After that, I became an honorary lecturer at Tadulako University. A few years later I continued my doctorate at Padjajaran University and a few years later I was appointed as a professor,” he explained.
Muhammad Khairil also mentioned some fond memories of his time at UMY. For him, UMY was his second home as he studied at an Islamic boarding school for 6 years and had valuable memories while at UMY. “UMY is my second home. After I studied at the pesantren, 6 years later I continued my studies in Jogja. When I studied at UMY, I was active in organizations, and was once trusted as the head of BEM (Students’ Executive Board) and the head of DPM (Students’ Representative Council), but I resigned as chairman of DPM because I wanted to finish my studies. Alhamdulillah, I was able to complete it in less than 4 years with cum laude predicate and the most important impression during my study at UMY was that the nature of the scientific process and transformation carried out by lecturers to students was very experiences, meaning that we were forged not only in theory but also learning by doing. How do we learn in social situations, interact, was done in an integrated manner. Between the organization and the lecture process, there were quite a lot of impressions at UMY, the lecturers also gave an example, and we and the lecturers were given the space to make constructive criticism,” he concluded. (Sofia)
