UNS — Prof. Drs. Bambang Harjito, M.App.Sc., Ph.D., became the first professor at the Faculty of Information Technology and Data Science (FATISDA) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta. He was inaugurated at the Open Session of UNS Academic Senate, Tuesday (7/3/2023). This was a special gift considering FATISDA UNS itself is one of the faculties that just opened last year.
Prof. Bambang struggle is not fairly easy. He started proposing professors in 2019. Now, he had successfully obtained the title that is the dream of all lecturers as a form of recognition for academic achievement.
“I realized, the road was winding and it took more than 30 years to get a professorship. This was God’s way of making me learn more. Having more knowledge and experience so that in the end I can still be given the opportunity to make more contributions to my institution,” Prof. Bambang said, Monday (6/3/2023).
Prof. Bambang is the first professor at FATISDA and the 257th UNS. He was inaugurated as a Professor in the field of Cryptography and Information Security with an inauguration speech on Keamanan Informasi Menggunakan Kriptografi DNA berbasis NTRU Kriptosistem pada Cyber Space (Information Security Using NTRU Cryptosystem-based DNA Cryptography in Cyber Space).
To uns.ac.id, he had never been imagined as becoming a professor. This was also not his childhood dream. He initially wanted to become a civil servant in the field of physical defense.
“I have tried several times (to take part in the selection) to enter the field of defense after graduating from high school and graduating from bachelor’s degree. However, it’s still not fate,” Prof. Bambang said.
The UNS Professor who was born in 1962 in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, had a lot of formal education in Surakarta. In senior high school, Prof. Bambang admitted that he was not a class star. He felt that he was just an ordinary student and almost never got a significant student ranking.
His self-confidence began to emerge when he was in third grade at SMA N 4 Surakarta. At that time, Prof. Bambang met a subject that challenged him, namely mathematics. That moment became his motivation to master the subject.
Prof. Bambang continued his studies at the Mathematics Department of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Yogyakarta. This choice was taken to find answers to his deep curiosity in mathematics. He also graduated in 1988.
His career at UNS began when he was accepted as a lecturer in the Mathematics Study Program (Prodi) which was then at the Faculty of Engineering (FT) in 1991. Five years later, in 1996, FMIPA UNS was established and Prof. Bambang continued his service as a lecturer there.
He had the opportunity to continue his Masters studies in 1998 at James Cook Queensland, Australia. The most influential moment for him until now occurred at that time. The supervisor retired that year and Prof. Bambang “diverted” his interest towards the field of Computer Science.
“Initially I switched to the field of mathematics. However, Master’s Supervisor in that year retired, so I was turned towards the field of Computer Science until now,” he said.
After graduation, Prof. Bambang was asked to open a D-3 Computer Science Study Program in 2003 at UNS. After that, in 2006, together with his colleagues, he managed to open and become the Head of Informatics Study Program at FMIPA UNS.
The need for the development of computer science at UNS prompted him to continue his studies at the S-3 level at the School of Information Systems at Curtin University in 2010. Upon his return from studying, Prof. Bambang again became the Head of Informatics Study Program FMIPA UNS and initiated foreign cooperation with the Universitas Utara Malaysia (UUM). Another mandate held by Prof. Bambang is the Head of UPT Information and Communication Technology (TIK) UNS since 2019 until now.
He held the new title as professor not only for himself. He wanted to motivate and encourage his juniors to be able to reach the same point. This momentum was also beneficial for the future development of UNS. Humas UNS
Reporter: Rangga Pangestu Adji
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
Translator: Mifta Muriska