Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara (UMSU) and the Language Development and Fostering Agency of Indonesia’s Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in promoting Indonesian for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) and advancing Indonesian language education.<\/p>\n
During the opening ceremony, international students from UMSU presented cultural performances, including a moving poetry recitation by a student from Yemen, which received high praise from Hafidz Muksin.<\/p>\n
“I hope UMSU’s BIPA students will have broader opportunities to demonstrate their Indonesian language proficiency, such as through the Festival Handai<\/em> at the university level. We also hope to involve other universities across North Sumatra so that it becomes a shared platform for appreciation and cultural exchange,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHe was particularly impressed by the poetry performance delivered by one of UMSU’s international students.<\/p>\n
“Earlier, one of the students beautifully recited a poem by Sapardi Djoko Damono. The performance was deeply expressive and emotionally engaging,” he remarked.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Hafidz also highlighted Indonesia’s growing international recognition in the field of language.![](\"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-08-at-8.31.36-AM-16-300x200.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
“Today, we have every reason to be proud because the Indonesian language has been officially recognized as one of the languages used in the UNESCO General Conference,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
He further explained that Indonesian for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) programs are now offered in 61 countries, supported by more than 770 educational institutions worldwide.<\/p>\n
“Currently, 61 countries have established BIPA programs, reflecting the growing global interest in learning the Indonesian language,” he added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Earlier, UMSU Rector Prof. Dr. Akrim emphasized that the partnership with the Language Development and Fostering Agency should lead to meaningful and sustainable programs rather than remaining a formal agreement.<\/p>\n
“We hope this collaboration goes beyond a signed document and results in concrete programs that contribute to the development and promotion of the Indonesian language,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
![](\"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-08-at-8.31.36-AM-15-300x200.jpeg\")
The Rector also expressed UMSU’s readiness to serve as an Indonesian Language Proficiency Testing Center for North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
“UMSU is fully prepared to become an official Indonesian language proficiency testing center,” he affirmed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Meanwhile, Dr. Cut Novita Srikandi, M.Hum., Head of the UMSU BIPA Center, explained that the seminar was designed as a platform for academic collaboration to strengthen Indonesian language education globally.<\/p>\n
“We are pleased to report that 63 international students are currently studying at the UMSU BIPA Center. They come from Yemen, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Sudan, and Thailand,” she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
She noted that the seminar was intended not only as an academic forum but also as an opportunity to build a shared commitment to addressing the challenges of teaching Indonesian as a foreign language.<\/p>\n
“SEBIPA 2026 is more than an academic conference. It is also a forum where we openly acknowledge the many challenges faced by BIPA educators while working together to improve the quality of Indonesian language instruction worldwide,” she explained.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The 2026 International BIPA Seminar brought together 306 participants, including 193 presenters consisting of 40 onsite keynote presenters, seven online keynote presenters, and 146 student presenters from both Indonesia and abroad. An additional 113 participants attended as non-presenting seminar participants.<\/p>\n
Through SEBIPA 2026, UMSU aims to strengthen international academic networks, improve the quality of BIPA instruction, and accelerate efforts to position the Indonesian language as a globally recognized international language in the future.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-08-at-8.31.36-AM-17.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara (UMSU) and the Language Development and Fostering Agency of Indonesia’s Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in promoting Indonesian for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) and advancing Indonesian language education. The agreement was signed by UMSU Rector Prof. Dr. Akrim, M.Pd. and Hafidz Muksin, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":17880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1786,19],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-17879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-event","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17879"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17881,"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17879\/revisions\/17881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17879"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=17879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-08-at-8.31.35-AM-1.jpeg\")
The agreement was signed by UMSU Rector Prof. Dr. Akrim, M.Pd. and Hafidz Muksin, S.Sos., M.Si., Head of the Language Development and Fostering Agency, during the 2026 International BIPA Seminar (SEBIPA 2026) held on Thursday (June 4) at the UMSU Auditorium, Muchtar Basri Street No. 3, Medan.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/umsu.ac.id\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-08-at-8.31.36-AM-3-300x200.jpeg\")
The MoU marks the beginning of a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening BIPA programs, enhancing language literacy, and promoting the internationalization of the Indonesian language.<\/p>\n