Universitas Islam Malang (UNISMA) welcomed a courtesy visit from Andrzej Cirocki, widely known as Prof. Andy Cirocki, a distinguished professor in English Language Education from the University of York, United Kingdom, one of the world’s leading universities ranked among the top 170 in the QS World University Rankings.
The meeting took place on Tuesday, August 6, 2025, in the Rector’s Meeting Room on the 6th Floor of the Umar bin Khattab Building at UNISMA. UNISMA Rector, Prof. Junaidi, Ph.D., an alumnus of Monash University, personally welcomed Prof. Andy, accompanied by the Vice Rector I, the Head of the International Affairs Office, the Director of the Language Center, and the Head of the International Publication Division.
This visit marked the initiation of a potential international partnership in line with the university’s Tri Dharma of Higher Education, encompassing education, research, and community engagement. The primary focus of the discussion was to explore collaboration opportunities between UNISMA and higher education institutions in the United Kingdom and Europe, particularly in English language teaching, internationally oriented curriculum development, collaborative research, and faculty and student exchange programs.
In his remarks, the UNISMA Rector reaffirmed the university’s commitment to building meaningful and sustainable international partnerships.
“The presence of Prof. Andy at UNISMA represents an important step in expanding our global academic network. We are committed to establishing collaborations that bring tangible benefits to scholarly development and enhance the quality of our graduates,” said Prof. Junaidi.
Prof. Andy expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and showed strong interest in the proposed collaborative initiatives. He highlighted the importance of cross-border knowledge exchange and commended UNISMA’s vision of advancing higher education internationalization while upholding its core values.
The meeting is expected to be followed up with several concrete programs, including visiting lecturer schemes, international public lectures, external thesis examination, and reciprocal visits by UNISMA faculty members to partner universities in Europe.
This initiative reflects UNISMA’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its position as a globally engaged university while maintaining its commitment to the values of Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah.