Former scavenger earns doctorate at UIN Walisongo Semarang

Nasikhin, a lecturer at Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Walisongo Semarang who was formerly a scavenger, has successfully earned his doctoral degree in Islamic studies from the university. During the doctoral promotion examination chaired by Prof Musahadi, Nasikhin successfully defended his dissertation. “Brother Nasikhin is declared to have passed with a GPA of 3.89. Hereby, it is declared that brother Nasikhin is the 409th Doctor graduated by UIN Walisongo Semarang,” said Prof Musahadi before the examiners and invited guests on Tuesday. From 2012 to 2017, he spent his days traversing village roads with his mother to collect scrap items to support the family economy. Amidst these limitations, his mother would often buy second-hand books by the kilogram for Rp1,000 or receive free donations from residents to resell to collectors. Before selling the tattered books, Nasikhin always took the time to read their contents. It was this simple habit, squeezed in between shouldering loads of scrap, that honed his literacy sharpness, analytical skills, and love for education, ultimately leading him to doctoral studies. Nasikhin’s academic journey at UIN Walisongo Semarang is clear proof that economic limitations are not a barrier to achievement. Throughout his studies, he managed to independently finance his education through various prestigious scholarship pathways. His undergraduate degree was obtained through the Bidik Misi scholarship, he then pursued his master’s through the Best Graduate Scholarship at UIN Walisongo Semarang, and his doctoral programme was funded by the Indonesia Bangkit Scholarship (BIB) from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Since 2022, Nasikhin has produced 131 scientific publications and actively engages in international research collaborations with academics from Malaysia, Thailand, and Brunei Darussalam. At the global level, his track record is strengthened by 12 scientific articles indexed in Scopus with an H-Index of 4 and a Google Scholar H-Index of 15. In the public defence, he defended his dissertation titled ‘Artificial Intelligence Literacy and its Implications for 21st Century Skills Development (A Case Study of Islamic Religious Education Students at UIN Walisongo Semarang and UII Yogyakarta)’. His research highlights the importance of Islamic Religious Education students possessing robust AI literacy so they do not fall into technological dependency without an epistemological foundation. Nasikhin offers an integrative AI literacy model by incorporating dimensions of digital Islamic ethics and digital morality, ensuring that the use of AI remains aligned with religious values.