by Rector of IAIN Salatiga

Welcome to a leading Islamic Campus in Salatiga! Welcome to IAIN Salatiga!
For us, today is the high point of the year. As leader of the university and its faculties we have a great pleasure to welcome you. And it is also a great responsibility. This year there are more than 10,000 students, and we are happy to see new students (more than 2000) that so many have found their way here to IAIN Salatiga and to Islamic best campus and the only one state campus in Salatiga.
A university should be a place for the long thoughts – in both time and space. So forget the immediate challenges for a moment. Go to the long-term perspectives – those that a university has been put together to promote. Because studying is exactly that: thinking, reflecting and connecting things, and being attracted and challenged by the unknown, by the uncertain and by what is far away. To study is to cultivate and nurture one of the strongest forces of the human mind – curiosity.

So as a global community – are trying to see the various dimensions of sustainability in correlation with each other? This challenges and inspires our campus and requires new research and new educational pathways. And it challenges you, as future leaders. Recognizing the correlation between economic, environmental and social sustainability means that we must see the human face behind financial fluctuation, that we must allow green initiatives to be inspired by considerations for health, that we must see both the social and the financial rewards gained from investing in better living conditions and a fairer distribution of resources. Regardless of which course of study you have now chosen, the challenge will be to recognize the wider perspectives across professions, disciplines, economics and politics.
The values that the university is built on are exactly those that are crucial for our ability to free ourselves from short-termism and immediate demands and to promote research and education that span generations and transcend geographical boundaries. They are about tolerance, empathy, inclusiveness and empowerment, about freedom of speech, transparency and human rights. These are fundamental values that enable us to understand our past and present and to prepare for the future.
A university can never be brought to perfection. But it can improve. And that’s where you come in. You – the students – are the most important part of a university. You must ask the critical questions. Your commitment is needed not only in auditoriums and in the learning environment, but in student democracy, student organizations and public debate. In short: Put your mark on the campus! Leave an imprint!
Don’t shy away from big undertakings. Feel the pleasure of pushing yourselves, of freeing yourself from the shackles of proximity. Universities – with you onboard – will be the high commissioners for future generations that are needed to tackle the difficult and complex challenges ahead. These challenges are global. For in an interconnected world, the most important challenges are those that concern us all.
Welcome to IAIN Salatiga!