Thursina International Islamic Boarding School (IIBS) persistently affirms its commitment to improve the quality of education and institutional governance through the Director's Benchmarking Visit to Singapore on October 12–14, 2025. It was attended by the board of directors to absorb the best practices of global campus management and broaden strategic insights to establish Thursina as The Center of Excellence in Islamic Global Education; a world-class Islamic educational institution with professional and sustainable standards.
During the visit, the board of directors gained insight into how Singapore is building a progressive, innovative, and industry-integrated education ecosystem. Professional governance, technology utilization, and adaptive academic culture inspired the development of the system at Thursina IIBS, ensuring it is relevant to global demands while rooted in Islamic values and spirituality.
Institutional benchmarking was conducted in three prestigious universities: Curtin University Singapore, the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Singapore Management University (SMU). NUS is currently ranked 8th in the world according to the QS World University Rankings 2025 and is a benchmark for world-class academic innovation and research. Meanwhile, SMU is known as Asia's Leading City Campus University and currently holds high global rankings in business, management, and leadership.
In Curtin, the board of directors learnt how the university develops learning quality comparable to that of its headquarters in Australia. Ustaz Nur Abidin, M.Ed., the CEO of Thursina IIBS, emphasized the importance of growth while adhering to the institution's core values: "We want to grow without losing our spirit, academic excellence, etiquette, and the character of our students. The benchmarking is a new fuel for maintaining Thursina's quality standards," said Ustaz Abidin.
A visit to NUS opens up opportunities for broader international collaboration, including short courses, bootcamps, global leadership workshops, and joint programs. Furthermore, Thursina is currently developing a Special Pathway scholarship and short course for studying in SMU, as an accelerated pathway to global learning experiences before entering the world of international universities.
"We want to ensure that Thursina students not only excel intellectually, but also become global leaders with Islamic character," stressed Ustaz Abidin.
Meanwhile, SMU's "city campus" concept, integrated with city life, industry, and society, serves as a reference for the learning environment model at Thursina: holistic, communicative, and socially impactful. The observation reinforces the direction of curriculum development, focusing not only on academics but also on courage, communication, global networking, and real-life contributions.
Furthermore, Ustaz Dr. M. Ali Wahyudi, M.Pd., the Chairman of Thursina IIBS, emphasized that the benchmarking is a strategic step for the global positioning of the institution.
"We don't want to be just an international school, but a global center of excellence in Islamic education. This benchmarking guides us in building a modern, professional system, maintaining our Islamic identity," said Ustaz Ali.
The insights gained from these three universities accelerate Thursina IIBS's transformation steps towards becoming a world-class educational institution with the output of producing students with noble character, global competitiveness, and ready to play a role as leaders of the community on the international level.
Benchmarking Singapore 2025 serves as a crucial foundation for curriculum development, institutional management, and a learning ecosystem that will inspire the emergence of a future generation of global Islamic leaders. (iz/lil)
