UMJ Dispatches 1,000 Students for International Community Service Program Across Indonesia and Abroad

JAKARTA - A total of 1,000 students from the University of Muhammadiyah Jakarta (UMJ) have officially been sent to attend the 2026 Real Work Lecture (KKN). Over the next month or so, they will carry out community service programs in various regions in Indonesia to overseas through the international KKN scheme. The release of KKN participants took place at the K.H. Ahmad Azhar Basyir Auditorium, Cendekia Building UMJ, Thursday, July 23. This year, UMJ has adopted the theme "Students are empowered, the world community through internationalization, the value of Al-Ma'un for sustainable development", as an effort to integrate community service with the strengthening of international networks. UMJ Rector Prof. Dr. Ma'mun Murod, M.Si., said KKN is an opportunity for students to test the knowledge they have gained in the classroom through the experience of living together with the community. According to him, students are not enough to understand the theory in the classroom, but must also know the social problems directly so that they have sensitivity when entering the world of work and community life. "KKN is a form of service to the community. Therefore, students need to know the community's life directly through experience for one month in the field before they actually go into the community," said Ma'mun. He reminded all participants to make KKN as an implementation of the values of Al-Ma'un which became the foundation of the Muhammadiyah movement. This dedication, he said, must be able to present real benefits while maintaining the university's good name. "The spirit of Al-Ma'un is to bring the values of worship into the reality of life. Therefore, I hope that all participants in the KKN will bring the good name of UMJ through service that is truly felt by the community," he said. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Research and Community Service Institute (LPPM) UMJ Prof. Dr. Ir. Tri Yuni Hendrawati, M.Si., IPM., ASEAN Eng., explained that the implementation of KKN this year is part of UMJ's internationalization strategy. In addition to strengthening service to the community based on digital, UMJ also collaborates with a number of international partners, including Universiti Putra Malaysia as well as partners in Malaysia and Hong Kong. This cooperation opens up opportunities for students to gain cross-country service experience while expanding academic networks. Tri Yuni added that each KKN group was formed multidisciplinary by involving students from various faculties. This model is expected to be able to produce more comprehensive solutions to the problems faced by the community. "Students work across disciplines. There is not one group that comes from one faculty so that scientific collaboration is really built." In KKN 2026, UMJ opened four implementation schemes, namely International KKN in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand, Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah KKN (KKN-MAs) in Malang Regency, East Java, KKN Bina Desa in Cianjur Regency, Bogor Regency, and Pandeglang Regency, and Tematik KKN which is carried out in the student's domicile area according to the quota of applicants. The Chairman of the UMJ 2026 KKN Committee, Darto, S.E., M.M., said that this year's KKN program is not only oriented towards carrying out activities in the field, but also encourages the birth of various scientific works as an outlet for community service. "KKN UMJ 2026 has external forms of KKN reports and journals, publication articles in proceedings, national journals, and international journals. In addition, the external form is publication in mass media." A total of 1,000 students were divided into 67 groups. Each group has five workbooks and is targeted to produce five articles of community service. "At the end of the KKN program, there will be 335 public performance articles. Thus, it is expected to increase the number of UMJ publications in the field of community service," said Darto. After the release procession, all participants attended a briefing entitled "Strengthening UMJ Students with Impact" delivered by the Director of UMJ PMB Djoni Gunanto, S.IP., M.Si. The briefing focused on strengthening leadership capacity and the role of students as agents of change who are able to bring about real impact for society through the implementation of Al-Ma'un values.