The Postgraduate Graduation Ceremony for Period I of the 2024/2025 Academic Year at the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada (Faperta UGM), was held on Thursday 24 October 2024, at the Prof. Harjono Danoesastro Auditorium. With a total of 78 Master’s graduates and 8 Doctoral graduates, Faperta UGM continues to demonstrate its capacity to produce outstanding graduates. One of the notable graduates this period is Dany Juhandi from the Doctoral Program in Agricultural Science, who achieved a perfect Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.00 out of 4.00 through a collaboration with the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) under the Degree by Research (DBR) scholarship scheme.
As a pioneer of the DBR program, Dany shared that his journey required a high level of commitment and focus to complete on time. He also explained that the scholarship provided him with extensive research facilities at BRIN, along with the opportunity to engage directly with experienced researchers.
“This collaboration gave me access to research facilities that not only supported my dissertation progress but also expanded my research knowledge through valuable insights from seasoned researchers,” he said.
For doctoral students, Dany views the biggest challenge as related to publications. He recounted his determined efforts to get his work published in Scopus-indexed journals. Despite facing multiple rejections, Dany persisted and eventually succeeded in publishing two articles in Quartile 1 (Q1) journals.
Dany’s academic journey was also supported by his supervisor, Prof. Dr. Ir. Dwidjono Hadi Darwanto, S.U., a professor in the Department of Agricultural Socioeconomics at UGM. For Dany, Prof. Dwidjono has been a role model since his Master’s studies. He particularly recalls an inspiring message from Prof. Dwidjono: “Don’t make things harder for students, as many of them already face difficult lives.” This advice became a guiding principle for Dany in his role as a lecturer since 2017 at the Wilmar Business Indonesia Polytechnic (WBI) in North Sumatra. Prof. Dwidjono also advised him to never stop learning and to remain humble, values that Dany has carried into his academic career.
After his hard work paid off with perfect results, Dany hopes that doctoral students at the Faculty of Agriculture UGM maintain a strong commitment to completing their studies.
“Don’t waste the time and resources invested. To achieve something greater, it certainly requires equivalent sacrifice,” Dany advised at the end of his inspiring story.
With his achievements, Dany Juhandi has opened the door to excellent research at the Faculty of Agriculture UGM, contributing to efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
Reporter: Alkhansa Khairunnisa
Editor: Hanita Athasari Zain
Photo: Faculty of Agriculture UGM Media