The Observatory of Astronomical Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara, cooperated with the Faculty of Divine Akdeniz University, Turkey. They agreed to cooperate in the preparation of the Global Islamic calendar.
“This collaboration aligns with the visions and missions of Muhammadiyah and UMSU. In the context of OIF, one of the points of cooperation is related to the Global Islamic Calendar,” said the Head of OIF, Dr. Arwin Juli Rakhmadi Go round and round.
According to him, this point is a particular concern, especially since Turkey is the host of the International Congress of Calendar Unity in 2016 which has produced various decisions and criteria that can be used as references in applying the Global Islamic calendar. In addition, the issue of the Global Islamic Calendar is one of the decisions of the 47th Muhammadiyah Congress in Makassar in 2015 which continues to be studied in depth until now through the Tarjih Council and the Tajdid of Muhammadiyah Central Executive.
The idea of compiling a Global Islamic calendar is also in line with the discussion at the General Study of the Muhammadiyah Central Leadership on Friday, June 17, 2022, which carries the theme of the Global Islamic Calendar and Muhammadiyah Internationalization.
According to Arwin, OIF UMSU will also cooperate in the field of research and study of the sky with the science faculty at Akdeniz University which also has an astronomy laboratory. One of the programs that can be carried out together is a remoting telescope, namely observations of celestial bodies that are carried out from their respective places (observatories), but with results that can be seen by both parties using telescopes.
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Ogke who served as Dean of the Divineyat Faculty and Dr. Ibrahim Halil Erdoan as the dean’s secretary, positively welcomed the cooperation carried out, particularly in the field of Astrology.
The visit of the UMSU delegation to Turkey with a number of campuses under the auspices of LLDIKTI Region I who are members of the APTISI Sumut Global Partnership. Visits and collaborations were carried out at three universities in Turkey, namely Akdeniz University, Suleyman Demiral University, and Isparta University.
This plan was led by the Acting Head of North Sumatra LLDikti, Prof Ibnu Hajar who was also joined by a team from the Association of Indonesian Private Universities (Aptisi) and 28 North Sumatran Private Universities.
This agenda is an effort to expand international networks and implement the Merdeka Learning and Independent Campus (MBKM) program of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology through collaboration programs with international universities.
