Universitas Islam Riau (UIR) has officially established a cooperation agreement with RS Syafira Pekanbaru, designating it as the referral hospital for the Faculty of Dentistry at UIR. The partnership was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the UIR campus in Pekanbaru.

The signing ceremony was attended by UIR’s Rector, Prof. Dr. rer. pol. H. Syafrinaldi, S.H., M.C.L., the Chairman of the Islamic Education Foundation (YLPI) Riau, Prof. Dr. H. Nurman, M.Si., as well as UIR’s Vice Rectors and representatives from RS Syafira Pekanbaru.

In his remarks, Prof. Syafrinaldi expressed high expectations for the collaboration, emphasizing the need for support from RS Syafira as a referral hospital and practical training site for future Faculty of Dentistry students. With this agreement in place, UIR hopes to begin accepting new students for the Faculty of Dentistry in the 2025 academic year.

Dr. Rina Apriani, Director of RS Syafira Pekanbaru, conveyed full support for the partnership, noting that the hospital is ready to contribute to addressing the need for skilled dental professionals in the Riau region and to support the successful implementation of this initiative.

The cooperation is expected to strategically strengthen healthcare services in Riau and help produce highly competent medical professionals, while also offering a local option for dentistry education for students who previously lacked access to such programs within the province.