The Islamic Global School Network (IGSN 2018)

NILAI, April 17, 2018 – The Islamic Global School Network (IGSN 2018) which was organised by Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) under the International Department known as USIM ‘Alamiyah from 9th to 13th of April, has come and gone, but the memory still remained fresh in the hearts of the participants.

The purpose of the annual program is to gather young Muslims future leaders who are in high schools around the globe to share, interact and network among one another, through a series of activities.

However, the event of this year was in collaboration with Permata Insan College of USIM and the International Students’ Association (ISA, USIM), adding more excitement and internationalization among the participants.

Various school from Indonesia, such as Madrasah Tsanawiyah, Negeri Jombang, Pondok Pesantren Darunnajah Jakarta, Pondok Pesantren Karangasem, SMAIT Al-Izzah Sorong Papua, MAN 2 Kota Malang, Pesantren Putri Al-Mawaddah and Singapore such as Pondok Pesantren Assalam took part in this year event.

Previously, the number of participants was little compared to this year number of participants. A total number of 226 participants from Indonesia and Singapore made the ‘IGSN 2018’ as a grand event of USIM.

Highlight of acitivities by days

Day 1: The event officially started at 9:00am on the 9th of April with Icebreaking session conducted by the International Students Association (ISA) of USIM. This was followed by a series of activities, such as flag decoration, creating a team theme song, to get the students to know one another.

Afterwards, more than 100 students’ of Permata Insan College, which was established by the Malaysian government for children with higher intellectual cogent (IQ), made an excellent presentation of Naqli and Aqli concept that represents the motto of USIM. The opening session was made by Dr. Hayati, the Director of USIM Alamiyah, along with Professor Dato’ Dr. Hassan Basri bin Awang Mat Dahan, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students Affairs and Alumni) of USIM, at night.

Day 2: The highlight of the second day activities was triggered by taking the students in a campus tour, visiting various faculties of the university where they were briefed about the activities, career choices and opportunities that are available in USIM. Later on the program was followed by sports, where the Malaysian traditional games were showcased. “Indeed the Malaysians have a lot of exiting games,” said one of the students.

Day 3: The third day activities began with hiking at Melati Hill. It was really a memorable hiking for everyone as the students started a series of cheers after the hiking to show their excitement. Thereafter, the program was led by a magnificent cultural performance and grand dinner. It was a glorious night that cannot be forgotten in the history of the IGSN because the Indonesians really showcased their cultural heritage through a series of presentations and performances. Everyone was thrilled by their performance, including the honourable Vice chancellor of USIM, Professor Dato’ Dr. Musa Ahmed, who later ended the session with official photographs with all the schools.

Day 4: The fourth day activities started with a trip to the central Mosque of Putra Jaya and Malaysian Government House, where the students took a lot of pictures with the beautiful ambience of the environment. This was immediately followed by shopping at Pasar Seni (Central Market) and KLCC. “This is really an existing experience,” said another student who added that he will love to enrol at USIM after his high school as a result of the wonderful experience he had.

Day 5: The last day began and ended with a closing session by honourable Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and International) of USIM, Professor Dato’ Dr. Zulkiple Abd Ghani. Students were allowed to show a three (3) minute video from each group about all the activities and experience during the program. So many wonderful videos came from the students and gifts were later presented to each group according to their performance from day one.

The memory and experience of this wonderful event will generate the interest among the participants to join USIM in the near future, make USIM a second home and an international Muslim students’ ultimate destination.