The culmination of the 70th Dies Natalis (anniversary) of the Hasanuddin University Faculty of Medicine (FK Unhas) took place on Sunday, 25 January 2026. The occasion was filled with a variety of activities by the FK Unhas academic community and was attended by thousands of alumni from various regions.
One important agenda item of this year’s FK Dies Natalis was the inauguration of the Unhas Faculty of Medicine Museum, or Unhas Medical Museum. The room, located on the 2nd floor of the Faculty of Medicine, presents a variety of objects, stories, and important documents that preserve the history of the birth and development of the Unhas Faculty of Medicine.
FK Unhas was officially founded on 28 January 1956. The path to the faculty’s formal establishment was a long process, beginning with the desire of the people of Makassar to have a Faculty of Medicine. Three years earlier, a “Gentlement Agreement” was reached between the Ministry of Education and Culture (P dan K) and the Sawerigading Higher Education Hall Foundation (Yayasan Balai Perguruan Tinggi Sawerigading). The foundation managed Sawerigading University, recorded as the first university in South Sulawesi, and even in Eastern Indonesia.
On 22 October 1953, the Government formed the Makassar Faculty of Medicine Preparatory Committee. The committee was chaired by Syamsuddin Daeng Ngawing, with Muhammad Rasyid Daeng Sirua as secretary. Figures who served as committee members included J. E. Tatengkeng, Andi Patiwiri, and Sampara Daeng Lili.
During this preparation, the Governor of Sulawesi (Andi Pangerang Pettarani) and the Mayor of Greater Makassar (Ahmad Dara Syahruddin) took strategic policy steps to meet the technical needs of establishing the faculty, including preparing funds of 1.5 million rupiah and clearing 50 hectares of swampland in Baraya. The Faculty of Medicine building was specially designed by a Dutch architect, Ir. J. Th. Dhroof.
Over 70 years of development, many milestones have been passed. Examples include the move from the Baraya campus to the Tamalanrea campus, the adoption of policies in the medical education and specialist education systems, early steps toward independence and internationalization, and the establishment of the Teaching Hospital.
All of these historical records can be explored in full at the Unhas Medical Museum. This facility is the first of its kind at Hasanuddin University. At the museum’s inauguration, Unhas Rector Prof. Dr. Ir. Jamaluddin Jompa, M.Sc expressed high appreciation for the attention FK Unhas leadership has given to the faculty’s history.
“To understand Unhas today, we cannot separate it from the history of its journey. Interestingly, Unhas’s history comes from the histories of its faculties. The Faculty of Medicine, for example, holds many valuable records about Unhas’s history, because this faculty existed before Unhas was officially founded,” said Prof. JJ.
Meanwhile, Dean of the Unhas Faculty of Medicine Prof. Haerani Rasyid explained that the initiative to build a medical museum at Unhas had long existed but could only be realized now. Prof. Haerani was inspired by major universities around the world.
“Usually, medical faculty museum collections either show the history of the faculty, or display anatomy collections, or the history of medicine in general. At Unhas, we tried to combine the collections so that it can become an educational resource,” said Prof. Haerani.
After the Rector signed the inauguration plaque, Unhas leaders, the Board of Trustees, and the Academic Senate toured the museum collection.(*/ir)
Editor : Ishaq Rahman
This article is an English translation of the original Indonesian report.