Young Minds, Big Missions: How GET IO UIN SSC Spent Their Weekend for CILEM’s Global Moment
Cirebon, July 5 2025 — On a quiet Saturday afternoon, just two days before the highly anticipated launch of CILEM 2025, the Global Engagement Team (GET) of the International Office at UIN Siber Syekh Nurjati Cirebon returned to the office—not out of obligation, but from a shared sense of commitment to excellence. While the campus settled into its usual weekend silence, the IO office remained alive with movement: cables tested, screen layouts adjusted, video loops refined, and final technical checks meticulously performed. Every effort was made to prepare for a cross-continental academic moment that demanded precision. Throughout the prior workweek, Lala Bumela, Ph.D., Director of the International Office, had been present with unwavering focus—conducting technical walkthroughs, refining collaborative documentation, coordinating with external speakers, and mobilizing resources across units. Having poured much of his energy into these preparations from Monday through Friday, he reviewed Saturday’s documentation from a distance, struck by both admiration and concern. “I’ve seen how hard they’ve worked all week,” he shared. “Seeing them back at it on a Saturday—it fills me with pride, but also a sense of guilt. They deserve rest. And yet, they choose to keep showing up.” It was a moment that underscored not only the students’ growing professionalism, but also the emotional labor of leadership—when the drive to mentor must coexist with care for well-being, especially as an international event looms with high stakes and even higher expectations.
The office was abuzz with tasks: configuring multimedia displays, testing loop videos, and refining visual alignments across multiple screens. The team performed sound checks, calibrated lighting for the hybrid setup, and rehearsed transitions for both online and offline participants. Attention to detail became their default mode—cables, visuals, screen timings, and even emcee scripts were fine-tuned with global expectations in mind. For GET, this weekend was not a sacrifice; it was an immersion into what it means to execute a world-class academic event.
Among them was Cyril Tsania Azzahra, a second-semester English education student and one of the youngest GET members. “This is a historical point in my life,” she shared. “It’s a history not of personal achievement, but of continuous collaboration for sustainable internationalization. Every task, no matter how small, felt like building a bridge that connects our university to the world.” Cyril was responsible for ensuring the accuracy of public-facing information and synchronizing it with content strategy.
Indra Maulana Arfan Ajiz, another core member of the team, reflected on the complexity and depth of their responsibilities. “There are so many procedural aspects we need to prepare, and each of them must meet international standards,” he said. “But these challenges have become dynamic learning opportunities for us. From documentation drafting to technical rehearsals, each part required discipline, focus, and critical thinking.” Indra worked closely on administrative details, sound systems, and coordinating screen visuals for hybrid delivery.
What the GET team demonstrated wasn’t just event preparation—it was institutional character in action. The weekend tasks they carried out—many of which went unseen by the wider university—were foundational for building a launch that could stand up to international scrutiny. They weren’t just students fulfilling assigned roles; they were young professionals stepping into the complex world of international collaboration with precision and maturity. Through every cable checked and every frame aligned, they upheld UIN SSC’s growing identity as a globally engaged institution.
As documentation poured into his screen throughout the day, Lala Bumela concluded the evening with a note of reflective encouragement to the team. “Every detail you’ve refined today—every screen check, every final adjustment—is shaping something far greater than an event. It’s shaping our presence in the global academic conversation. Efforts like this resonate far beyond the seminar room.” With two days remaining, the foundation being laid was not only technical—it was also a testament to intellectual commitment, cultural ambition, and the institutional spirit to meet international standards with clarity and conviction.
Author: Muhammad Azkiya Bahtsulkhoir