Every university needs industry, and industry needs university. Both parties created an essential dynamic that will significantly advance their respective growth. On a primal level, University Al-Azhar Indonesia’s (UAI) synergy with industry would offer a pathway to work for its students, and on the other hand, the industry would yield a boon by having access to UAI’s talent and low-cost pipeline. Yet, the multiplier effect will generate much more impact, such as industry expert talk that is conducted in UAI will enrich the mind of the students pertaining what the industry needs and expect. Thus equipping them with a shrewd knowledge of how to succeed in an ever-evolving digital world. What happened on March 12, 2025, between UAI and Daion Kaiun Recruit Co., Ltd, an overseas human resource service company, was a precursor to a fruitful and prospective journey.
A Bright Beginning
On that day, UAI and Daion Kaiun Recruit Co., Ltd met with each other and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) in the Rector’s Room, 2nd floor of UAI. From UAI’s side, they were led by the Rector of UAI, Prof. Dr. Ir. Asep Saefuddin, M.Sc., and accompanied by Vice Rector I for Academic Affairs, Dr. Drs. Zirmansyah, M.Pd., Vice Rector II for Resources, Ir. Ade Suryanti, M.M. IPU., Vice Rector III for Student Affairs and Alumni, Dr. Faisal Hendra, Lc., M.A., Head of Office of International Affairs and Partnership, Dr. Mohamad Ghozali Moenawar, Lc., Head of Japanese Literature Study Program, Vera Yulianti, S.S., M.A., Head of Intenational Cooperation Section, M.M., Muchammad Nasucha, S.S., M.Si.
From Daio Kaiun Recruit’s side, they were led by the Representative Director, Seiki Ozaki, and he was accompanied by the Director, Mr. Kosei Sahara, and Business Development, Mr. Naldy Kostiyandi from PT TRILOGI Indonesia Berkarya. The meeting was opened and led by Dr. Ghozali, who appreciated the guests who came today and expounded the agenda of the signing.
Robust Report
Afterwards, Ms. Vera takes center stage to deliver her report on the collaboration.
We began talks for an internship for our students in September last year, and then it grew to an understanding that the duration of the internship will be a year, from August 2025 to August 2026, and the vacancy is for 3 UAI Japanese Literature’s students. They will be posted in the Narita Airport, where they will be handling passengers. This is also a historic moment for UAI, as UAI is the 3rd Indonesian university partner after UPI and ITB.
Opening Remarks Session
After Ms. Vera finished her report, Prof. Asep began his remarks by saying that he hoped this collaboration would be diversified in the future.
I’m very thankful for this program, and we hope this collaboration will be expanded in the future, either in different posts, open to all study programs, and work in other countries as well as the world now open its borders.
Afterwards, Mr. Ozaki reaffirmed Prof. Asep’s view and underlined Japan’s upside-down workers’ pyramid phenomenon would mean that Japan needs UAI help to build his nation.
At the moment, Japan is suffering from an upside-down workers’ pyramid where the old workers are plenty and the young are few. That’s why we shared the same sentiment with Prof. Asep: our nation needs many UAI students, not just students from the Japanese Literature Study Program but in others as well. Hopefully, our interview process tomorrow for your students will be a success.
The end of Ozaki remarks brought us to the signing of the MoU and MoA session that was represented by Prof. Asep and Mr. Ozaki.
Signing MoU and Moa Session
Next, all delegations join in a group photo to commemorate the historic signing.
With the group photo concluded, it paved the way to an awarding session between Prof. Asep and Ozaki.
Awarding Session
The awarding session was marked with UAI and Daio Kaiun exchanging plaques and merchandise.
Conclusion
As the awarding session reached its end, so did the official event. Mr. Sahara readily gave Prof. Asep a parting gift: a sumo ranking poster. It’s a staple of Japanese culture that may seem foreign to some but is close to the natives’ hearts and minds and will certainly amuse Prof. Asep. Similar to the Rikishi charging its momentum to strike or grapple his enemy, UAI and Daio Kaiun have stored enough energy to fully strike its mark, yet the strike needs to be swift, robust, and poised to yield its maximum impact for respective parties. Aamiin (BR)