On the Eve of AsiaCALL 2025 Pre-Conference: IO UIN SSC’s Global Engagement Team Strengthens Readiness for “Voicing Critical Representatives” Capacity Building Workshop
Cirebon, October, 10th 2025 — One day before the second event of the AsiaCALL 2025 Pre-Conference, preparations at the International Office and Partnership of UIN Siber Syekh Nurjati Cirebon (UIN SSC) are intensifying. The upcoming session — titled “Voicing Critical Representatives: AI Research Workshop and Public Speaking Bootcamp for AsiaCALL Student Presenters” — is designed as a capacity building workshop for the Global Engagement Team (GET), who serve as the International Office’s young ambassadors and organizing core. Scheduled for Saturday, October 11, 2025, the event will provide training on public speaking, academic presentation, and professional conduct within international conference settings. Guided by Lala Bumela, Ph.D., Director of the International Office and Partnership and Chairperson of AsiaCALL 2025 (Indonesia), this workshop is envisioned as both a skill-upgrading platform and a reflection of UIN SSC’s commitment to nurturing globally competitive talents. The session will feature Emma L. Schuberg, Ph.D. from Charles Darwin University, Australia, and Sirniawati, S.Pd.I., M.A. from Universitas Muhammadiyah Cirebon, Indonesia, who will deliver insights on AI-integrated research communication and intercultural presentation dynamics. “This is not just a training,” said Lala Bumela, “but a rare and valuable opportunity for our team to transform their voice into a bridge between local integrity and global dialogue.”
Behind the enthusiasm, however, lie the challenges inherent in organizing high-standard international events. With limited personnel and overlapping responsibilities, the Global Engagement Team must juggle their academic schedules, committee duties, and digital management tasks. The dynamic nature of hybrid event coordination — involving live streaming, international communication, and technical rehearsal — has demanded full concentration and flexibility from every member. Despite the tight timeline, the team’s passion continues to drive the process forward. Each meeting, whether online or offline, becomes a space not only for logistical planning but also for character formation, where students learn resilience, teamwork, and global responsibility. The complexity of AsiaCALL’s preparation reveals a deeper truth: that leadership and collaboration in international education are built not only through formal structure but also through shared dedication and empathy within a multicultural environment.
In a briefing with the GET earlier this week, Lala Bumela reminded the team of the essence of this initiative. He emphasized that AsiaCALL’s pre-conference is more than an academic event — it is a movement that prepares young scholars to represent Indonesia’s intellectual maturity before the world. Through “Voicing Critical Representatives,” the GET are not merely learning to speak in public, but to convey ideas grounded in ethics, theory, and human understanding. “When you stand as a representative,” Lala shared, “you are not only voicing your own thought — you are voicing the character of a nation, the sincerity of educators, and the evolving identity of global learners.” His words reignited the team’s sense of purpose, transforming anxiety into motivation and responsibility into pride.
As part of the preparation, the International Office has coordinated intensively with both domestic and international partners. Technical simulations are being conducted to ensure seamless virtual participation from overseas mentors, while the media and documentation divisions are finalizing digital banners, opening videos, and the broadcast layout. The academic division is refining workshop modules, aligning them with AsiaCALL’s broader theme of “AI in Language Education: Between Innovation and Integrity”, ensuring that discussions on Artificial Intelligence remain interdisciplinary — combining education, technology, and humanistic philosophy. The workshop aims to sharpen not only communicative competence but also reflective thinking, allowing students to internalize how AI can enhance pedagogical creativity without diminishing human emotion and originality. Meanwhile, logistical teams are arranging hospitality and technical backups, anticipating every scenario to ensure the event runs flawlessly.
The upcoming session represents more than a rehearsal; it symbolizes the embodiment of UIN SSC’s vision of global professionalism. The GET, composed of students from diverse academic backgrounds, have become living examples of how education can transcend classroom walls through active engagement and experiential learning. The presence of international experts such as Emma Schuberg and Sirniawati enriches the dialogue by blending global experience with local wisdom. For UIN SSC, this event is also a form of intellectual diplomacy — an effort to show that Indonesian universities can play a proactive role in shaping global educational discourse, particularly in navigating the ethical and emotional frontiers of Artificial Intelligence in language learning. Each participant is expected to emerge not only with enhanced skills but also with a renewed sense of responsibility toward the future of education in an AI-driven world.
As the final countdown to the pre-conference workshop continues, the atmosphere within the International Office reflects both excitement and contemplation. The upcoming session, while rooted in technical and communicative training, is ultimately about cultivating leadership, empathy, and intellectual courage — the very values that define AsiaCALL’s mission. Reflecting on this journey, Lala Bumela expressed his confidence in the team’s growth, saying, “Our Global Engagement Team stands not merely as event organizers, but as a new generation of thinkers who understand that knowledge must speak, and speech must be grounded in knowledge.” His closing statement echoed the essence of AsiaCALL itself — a space where voices, values, and visions converge, reminding all that education is not only about mastering technology, but also about mastering humanity through it.
Author: Muhammad Azkiya Bahtsulkhoir