Distinguished Guests in Attendance

Several distinguished figures attended this prestigious event. There was Prof. Dr. Zudan Arif Fakrulloh, S.H., M.H., Head of the National Civil Service Agency (BKN). He also serves as Vice Chairman of the UNS Alumni Association (IKA UNS). Also present was Paulus Dwi Laksono, Head of Regional Office I BKN. Another was Prof. Ihwan Susila, Ph.D., Vice Rector III of Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta. Next was Prof. Dr. Hasnawi Haris, M.Hum., Vice Rector of Universitas Negeri Makassar. Lastly, there was Prof. Dr. Sukamto Satoto, S.H., M.H., Head of the Doctoral Program in Law at Universitas Jambi.

Breakdown of Graduates by Program

Vice Rector for Academic and Research Affairs, Prof. Fitria Rahmawati, S.Si., M.Si., presented a detailed report on the graduates. The 593 graduates comprised:

• Diploma III: 27 graduates
• Diploma IV: 4 graduates
• Bachelor’s Program: 438 graduates
• Specialist Medical Education: 31 graduates
• Master’s Program: 74 graduates
• Doctoral Program: 19 graduates
• International Students: 2 (from Turkmenistan and Malaysia)

Outstanding Graduates

This period’s fastest and youngest graduates included:

Doctoral Program

• Fastest Graduate: Dr. Indra Rahmatullah (Doctoral program in Law) – 2 years, 11 months
• Youngest Graduate: Dr. Noor Shazreen Binti Mortadza (Doctoral program in Economics) – 31 years

Master’s Program

• Fastest Graduate: Ainina Ratnadewi, M.E. (Economics and Development Studies) – 1 year, 3 months
• Youngest Graduate: Anisya Nur Widya, M.E. (Economics and Development Studies) – 22 years, 10 months

Bachelor’s Program

• Fastest Graduate: Nadia Ananda Putri, S.Pd. (Physical Education, Health, and Recreation) – 3 years, 4 months
• Youngest Graduate: Salzha Devinta, S.Ked. (Medical) – 20 years, 1 month

Diploma IV Program

• Fastest Graduate: Muhammad Miftah Dhiya’ulhaq, S.Tr.Kes. (Occupational Health and Safety) – 4 years, 3 months
• Youngest Graduate: Firdaus Maulidina Achmad, S.Tr.Sos. (Demography and Civil Registration) – 23 years

Diploma III Program

• Fastest Graduate: Riska Oktavia A., A.Md. (Taxation) – 2 years, 10 months
• Youngest Graduate: Muhammad Aji Pangestu, A.Md. (Chemical Engineering) – 19 years, 10 months

Inspiring Words from Graduate Representative

Representing the graduates, Dr. Noor Shazreen Binti Mortadza expressed gratitude and shared her journey. Originally from Malaysia, she first came to Solo for research during her Master’s studies. She fell in love with the city, which led her to pursue a Doctorate at UNS.

“When I pursued my Master’s degree in Malaysia, I conducted research in Solo. Although my time there was short, I fell in love with the city. This led me to continue my Doctoral studies at UNS. Despite many challenges and obstacles, I aspire to become a lecturer,” Dr. Shazreen shared.

Encouraging Message from UNS Alumni Association

Prof. Zudan encouraged graduates to express gratitude to their parents and lecturers, emphasizing the importance of resilience and continuous learning.

“To all alumni, uphold UNS’s good name and continue to nurture your love and pride for your alma mater. With its growing reputation, alumni play a crucial role in enhancing UNS’s prestige. Success is not solely about holding high positions but overcoming challenges and solving problems. These accomplishments serve as the foundation for greater achievements,” he remarked.

The ceremony concluded with warm congratulations to all graduates, marking a significant milestone in their academic and professional journeys.

Humas UNS

Reporter: Dikky Yudi Pradana
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

The post Proud Milestone: UNS Confers Degrees to 593 Graduates, 176 with Cum Laude Honors appeared first on Universitas Sebelas Maret.

Edy’s dissertation, titled “Strengthening Beam-Column Connections in Non-Engineered Buildings with Steel Plates to Improve Seismic Performance,” addresses the significant earthquake risk in Indonesia. This research is motivated by the fact that most of Indonesia is located in earthquake-prone areas. Earthquakes in Indonesia have caused significant damage, particularly to residential buildings. These damaged houses fail to meet technical requirements for earthquake-resistant structures. Damage to non-engineered buildings (NEBs) often occurs due to the separation of building elements, especially beams and columns. The damage at the beam-column joints is primarily caused by insufficient anchorage length or a lack of strong connections between the beam and column elements.

In engineered buildings, reinforcement materials such as Carbon-Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), Glass-Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP), Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC), and steel have been widely used. Reinforcement in non-engineered buildings (NEBs) has not been widely implemented, prompting this research to explore the use of steel plates for reinforcement. Steel plates were chosen due to their effectiveness and efficiency, which are comparable to reinforcement materials used in engineered buildings, such as CFRP.

“Surveys of material quality and implementation in NEBs were conducted in the Surakarta (Solo Raya) area and Pacitan Regency,” Edy explained.

The first set of data collected for this research pertains to the quality of concrete. Survey results show that the quality of concrete in most cases is below standard, with strengths less than 10 MPa, whereas the minimum required strength for earthquake-resistant buildings is 21 MPa. Secondly, the reinforcement details do not meet technical standards, including the type of reinforcement (plain and deformed bars), the quantity of reinforcement (insufficient reinforcement ratio), and the development length and anchorage connections between the beam and column reinforcements. Thirdly, the quality of construction in the field is poor because the workers generally lack training in building earthquake-resistant structures.

The conclusions of the study indicate that, first, non-engineered buildings (NEB) in residential areas generally have very poor quality reinforced concrete, both in terms of material quality and workmanship, making them highly vulnerable to earthquake hazards. Secondly, the reinforcement of beam-column joints in non-engineered buildings has proven to be both effective and efficient. This significantly improves seismic performance by increasing load capacity by up to 71,23%, reducing the risk of failure from joint collapse to column sections, and enhancing the undamaged condition under Design Basis Earthquake (DBE) scenarios from 56,08% to 82,41%, and under Maximum Considered Earthquake (MCE) scenarios from 29,21% to 66,80%.

Edy recommended several measures to mitigate risks in NEBs: implementing structural reinforcements to prevent catastrophic failure and loss of life and property, and providing training and raising public awareness about earthquake-resistant construction techniques. “Thirdly, enhancing collaboration between government, academia, practitioners, and the private sector to improve earthquake mitigation efforts,” he added.

The head examiner, Dr. Techn. Ir. Sholihin As’ad, M.T., congratulated Edy Purwanto on his achievement. “May your knowledge be beneficial and inspire other faculty members who have not yet obtained their doctorates. Dr. Edy is also a lecturer at FT UNS,” Dr. Techn. Sholihin, who also serves as the Dean of FT UNS, said.

Dr. Techn. Sholihin added that the faculty is actively encouraging more lecturers to pursue doctoral degrees. “We are optimistic that in the next three to four years, 80 percent of our faculty members at FT UNS will hold doctoral degrees,” he concluded.

HUMAS UNS

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