The National Islamic Economic Olympiad is one of the series of events of the Gunadarma Sharia Economic Event (GSENT) 2018. GSENT itself is a grand event held annually by the Sharia Economic Forum (SEF) of the Faculty of Economics and Business, Gunadarma University. Carrying the theme "Revitalize the Role of Islam in Realizing Indonesia as One of the Largest Economies in the World" which is currently hot among students today, GSENT aims to accommodate students who have an interest in Islamic economics to improve their intellectuality and abilities in the process of achieving a common goal, namely grounding Islamic economics in Indonesia. This activity also serves as a meeting place for the best students from all universities in Indonesia.
The National Islamic Economic Olympiad consists of several stages, namely the preliminary stage, semifinals, and the grand final as the peak event held at Gunadarma University Depok, on April 18-21, 2018. However, long before the peak event, the participants must go through the preliminary stage by submitting essays and doing virtual tests online . The preliminary stage is carried out from January to March to collect essays with the theme "Realizing Maqashid Al-Shariah to Achieve Economic Justice through Islamic Philanthropy" . After the preliminary stage is completed, the 12 best teams are announced who are entitled to qualify for the semifinal stage at Gunadarma University. The 12 best teams from all universities in Indonesia who successfully qualified for the semifinal stage include 3 teams from Universitas Airlangga , 2 teams from Bogor Agricultural University, Hasanudin University, Semarang State University, Gunadarma University, UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta, STEI Tazkia, and Brawijaya University.
The semifinal round held at Gunadarma University consisted of a written test, an open discussion , and a case study . In this series of olympiads, all participants were prohibited from revealing the identity of their home university for objectivity of assessment. The written test round aimed to assess the semifinalists' level of ability and understanding of Islamic and conventional economics. The open discussion was the second semifinal round after the written test. In open discussion , it was divided into two groups with the discussion theme, "Islamic Capitalism: Embraced or Beaten?" Each team was given the opportunity to present their arguments guided by a moderator. At this stage, each individual in the group was expected to strive to demonstrate their ability to argue, supported by valid data.
In the middle of the semifinal round, participants also attended an international seminar which was part of the GSENT 2018 event series. This international seminar raised the theme of Financial Technology . The final round of the semifinal round was a case study . Each team was entitled to one case that had to be answered, followed by a question and answer session with the jury. Uniquely in case study , each team received a case from a video provided by the committee from several themes, namely Islamic banking, Islamic capital markets, Islamic microfinance , Islamic philanthropy (ZISWAF), and Islamic macroeconomics. In addition to the mandatory questions, there were two questions to be competed for after all participants had finished answering the mandatory questions. The case study was a round that really tested the participants' sensitivity regarding the hottest issues in Islamic economics because with case building , participants had to be able to answer the case study given by the committee.
After the semifinal series was completed, four of the twelve teams were announced who were entitled to advance to the final round. Two of the three Universitas Airlangga managed to qualify for the grand final with members Abdul Kafi (Islamic Economics Study Program, 2016), Evi Aninatin Ni'Matul Choiriyah (Islamic Economics Study Program, 2016) and Salma Fioren Salsabella (Islamic Economics Study Program, 2016) as Team 1 and Rizka Lailatu Millah (Development Economics Study Program, 2015), Muhammad Ruliszar (Management Study Program, 2016), and Muhammad Bachrul Ulum Fanani (Accounting Study Program, 2015) as Team 2. The grand final of GSENT 2018 was very exclusive because in this round the finalists were given a case that had to be presented in a student conference attended by students, practitioners, activists and Islamic economic figures. The case presented by the committee focused on the GSENT's overarching theme, "Revitalizing the Role of Islam in Realizing Indonesia as One of the Largest Economies in the World ." Finalists were given 10 minutes for their presentations and 20 minutes for a Q&A session with the jury and conference participants. This session provided an opportunity for all conference participants to exchange ideas and perspectives on Islamic economics.
Within a short timeframe of less than 24 hours, the GSENT Olympiad finalists were required to create a framework that leads to a solution for the given case the case , "How can Islamic philanthropy guarantee hifdzul aql?" In fact, when talking about Islamic philanthropy, we will certainly be connected to the ZISWAF instrument (zakat, infak, shadaqah, and waqf) which will be used as a tool to ensure the achievement of hifdzul aql .
The grand final of the National Islamic Economic Olympiad concluded with the announcement of the winners. Universitas Airlangga won first place (Abdul Kafi, Evi Aninatin Ni'Matul Choiriyah, and Salma Fioren Salsabella) and third place (Rizka Lailatul Millah, Muhammad Ruliszar, and Muhammad Bachrul Ulum Fanani).
Alhamdulillah, with this achievement, the FEB Unair delegation hopes to demonstrate that the glory and glory of Islamic economics can be re-established. They also hope this achievement will inspire and motivate many students to participate in competitions to bring honor to their alma mater. Many capable and intelligent students are still reluctant and shy to participate. They have high hopes of continuing to influence and benefit their surroundings. While there's still an opportunity to bring honor to their alma mater, why not?
For all Islamic economics activists and Universitas Airlangga , they hold fast to the principles, "Moving is indeed tiring, but standing still is more shameful" and "The path of preaching is difficult, if there were an easy path to preaching, we would surely be on the wrong path ." These two principles are what they always adhere to to continue achieving and striving to bring honor to their beloved alma mater. Many people are intelligent, but if the knowledge they gain is not utilized, what is the point? The blessings of knowledge can be realized by implementing it. Good luck and enjoy the process with full confidence! ()