UNAIR NEWS  – Coming from Islamic boarding school environment, Pesantren Nurul Jadid, Paiton, Probolinggo, Mohammad Syaeful Bahar was not only religiously smart but he also loved sociology and political sciences.

“In this boarding school my learning spirit is formed, one of them is learning about something not taught in pesantren, such as sociology and politics,” he explained.

The 49 year old man born in Bondowoso also told since that boarding school period he has admired some political experts and sociology from Universitas Airlangga.

“UNAIR is one of the campus that I have long dreamed about. Big names like Prof. Tandyo, Prof. Ramlan, and Prof. Hotman are names that always encourage me to study and learn here, “he explained.

He realized his dream by taking a master’s and doctoral studies at UNAIR. Thanks to his persistence and research entitled “Interaction Between Kiai and Beijingan in Village Head Election Process (PILKADES) in Bondowoso”, Syaeful can be the best doctoral graduate of FISIP UNAIR with 3.94 GPA.

“This study found, at least there are four patterns of interaction between kiai and beijingan, that is collaborative, conflict, coexistence and hegemonic,” he explained.

During his doctoral study at UNAIR, Syaeful also has various activities and responsibilities in several institutions such as being the Head of Maarif NU Bondowoso Education Institute, Education Board Chairman in Bondowoso, and Vice Chairman of the Regional Research Council at Bondowoso.

“All these responsibilities also required a high concentration, so it became difficult to manage time with the doctoral study that I take,” said Syaeful. (*)

Author: Akhmad Janni

Editor: Nuri Hermawan