Strategies for Improving the Soft Skills of PTKI Students in Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to identify and analyze effective strategies for improving the soft skills of students at Islamic Higher Education Institutions (PTKI) in Indonesia, focusing on four representative campuses: IAIN Kendari, UIN Walisongo Semarang, IAIN Madura, and UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. The study used a descriptive qualitative approach with in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation studies involving faculty leaders, lecturers, and students. Data were analyzed interactively through a process of reduction, presentation, and verification to obtain a comprehensive understanding of strategies for strengthening soft skills based on Islamic values. The results of the study show that the development of soft skills at PTKI is integrated into an Outcome-Based Education (OBE) curriculum that emphasizes Qur'anic values such as trustworthiness, justice, and excellence. The three-dimensional curriculum that is applied combines academic, character, and spiritual aspects in shaping the profile of an insān kāmil graduate. Active and contextual learning, such as Project-Based Learning and Service Learning, proved to be effective in fostering students' collaboration, communication, leadership, and social empathy skills. Lecturers' exemplary behavior is a key factor through the internalization of moral values and professionalism, while student activities such as campus organizations and social movements serve as social laboratories for character building. This study formulates an Integrative Strategy Model for Strengthening Soft Skills Based on Islamic Values, which consists of five main pillars: integrative curriculum, active pedagogy, lecturer role modeling, student activities, and visionary academic leadership. This model emphasizes that strengthening soft skills in Islamic higher education institutions not only improves graduates' work readiness but also shapes an Islamic personality that is ethical, collaborative, and socially useful.