300 NU Scholarship Students Participate in 2026 Aswaja Training
The student-santri participants of the 2026 Aswaja Training are expected to become Indonesia’s leaders by 2045 and serve as agents of change who implement the values of Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah (Aswaja) within university environments.
Surabaya (ANTARA) - A total of 300 student-santri (mahasantri) recipients of the scholarship programme, a collaboration between the East Java Regional Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PWNU) and several universities in Surabaya, participated in the 202lar Aswaja Training at the PWNU East Java Building, Surabaya, on Sunday.
“The PWNU scholarship collaboration with various campuses last year (2025) qualified around 450 student-santri, but the 2026 Aswaja Training is attended by 300 participants from Surabaya campuses,” said the Head of the Education, Human Resources, and Research Development Team (PPSDM) of PWNU East Java, Prof Masykuri Bakri, during the opening of the event.
He explained that the 2026 PWNU East Java scholarship programme saw approximately 250 students pass the selection process from a total of 603 applicants who met the administrative requirements. This figure is lower than the 2025 scholarship recipients, which exceeded 450 people.
Prof Masykuri expressed his hope that the participants of the 2026 Aswaja Training could become Indonesia’s leaders in 2045 and act as agents of change implementing Aswaja values on campus. “Student-santri should not merely study on campus but also be active in extra-curricular and intra-curricular activities. If one only attends lectures, there will be a deficit in time, achievement, and leadership/cadre development, as generally, the great people in this country have backgrounds as activists. While scholarship programmes like this are available, one must still engage in non-academic programmes,” he said.
According to him, organisational experience and participation in various student activities are processes for character building, expanding networks, and encouraging the birth of creativity and additional competencies outside of academic learning. Prof Masykuri cited his own experience during higher education in Malang, after studying at the Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School in Jombang, where he was active in Scouts, choirs, committees, and various local, regional, and national activities.
The 2026 Aswaja Training was attended by hundreds of student-santri from Surabaya, featuring learning materials from the Head of the Human Resources Study and Development Institute (Lakpesdam) of PWNU East Java and Professor at the State University of Surabaya (Unesa), Prof HM Turhan Yani, on NU Student-Santri; Prof Masykuri Bakri on NU Leadership; the Chairman of PWNU East Java, KH Abdul Hakim Mahfudz, on the Golden Generation of NU in the Second Century; and the Chairman of the PWNU East Java Aswaja Centre, KH Ma’ruf Khozin, on Aswaja principles.