EduAsiaNews, Jakarta – Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) took a progressive step by visiting the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) on Wednesday (3/12/2025). The visit aimed to conduct an official audience and initiate a strategic partnership between the two institutions. The UMY delegation was led by the Vice Rector for Education and Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. Zuly Qodir, M.Ag.
During the meeting, BNPT’s Director of Prevention, Brig. Gen. TNI Dr. Sigit Karyadi, S.H., M.H., welcomed the collaboration initiative and opened wide opportunities for UMY students. Sigit stated that BNPT is highly receptive to internship programs and is ready to deliver public lectures on campus.
“We have a quota of up to 200 internship participants we can accommodate,” Sigit said. He explained that students may be placed in the International Cooperation Division or the Psychology Division. In addition, BNPT specifically needs Informatics Engineering students to strengthen its IT team. The internship duration is flexible, ranging from 1–1.5 months, and can be extended to 3–4 months.
Sigit added that BNPT provides supporting facilities such as lunch and lodging, provided there is an official recommendation letter from the home university. BNPT also demonstrated its commitment to inclusivity by offering special positions for participants with disabilities, who can be placed as archivists or assistant directors.
Beyond internship opportunities, BNPT invited UMY to organize the National Campus Program (Program Kampus Kebangsaan), an initiative designed to strengthen campus resilience in building resistance, prevention, and countermeasures against the infiltration of radical-terrorist ideologies.
Responding to the proposal, Prof. Zuly expressed UMY’s enthusiasm for establishing cooperation, especially since no formal partnership had existed previously. He emphasized that UMY is ready to become BNPT’s strategic partner in implementing special programs related to organizational development and national issues.
Furthermore, Zuly offered a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program for BNPT staff who are civil servants but have not yet been able to convert their master’s degree credentials. Through the RPL scheme, staff can shorten their study duration and avoid starting coursework from the beginning in several available study programs.
Another innovation proposed by UMY is the Capstone Project, a program that enables students to work in teams to support BNPT’s research or project needs. “The output of this capstone project can later take the form of a policy brief that benefits BNPT while also serving as a Final Project for our students,” Zuly concluded, reaffirming UMY’s commitment to strengthening academic contributions to counterterrorism efforts. (*)
