ITS Campus, ITS News — The 133rd Graduation event of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) became an appreciation moment for graduates who have shown consistency and high dedication while studying in college. This is proven by Christopher Jason Santoso and Muhammad Fadhli, two graduates who successfully carved a brilliant achievement by earning the predicate of Best Graduate with the highest Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) in this graduation period.

Coming from the Bachelor’s degree (S1) level, Christopher Jason Santoso, who is a graduate of the ITS Development Studies Department, successfully achieved a near-perfect GPA of 3.98. Behind this achievement, the young man familiarly called Christo admitted he was surprised because initially he only targeted to try his best every semester, but his consistency actually brought him beyond expectations to snatch the best graduate predicate.

This extraordinary achievement cannot be separated from his personal motivation since the first time he set foot in higher education. “Since first entering ITS through the SNBP route, my target was only to survive and give the best in every semester,” expressed Christo who will be graduating on the second day, next Sunday (19/4).

Not only excelling academically, during his 3.5 years of study, this young man from Surabaya was also active in developing himself through ITS Global Engagement (GE) or the ITS Directorate of Global Partnerships (DKG) until successfully winning the title of Champion of ASEAN Future Innovators Challenge in Malaysia. Besides this achievement, the graduate who is also known as a young puppeteer fills his free time by preserving culture as a form of positive contribution outside the field of science and technology.

He then poured his concern for social issues into a qualitative thesis titled Social Inclusion Development in Surabaya City: A Phenomenological Study of Intersectionality Discrimination against Speakers with Rhotacism. “Through in-depth interviews to interpret the subjective experiences of speakers, I hope this research can make a real contribution to strengthening inclusive policies in Surabaya City,” stated the young man who aspires to become a researcher.

The best graduate predicate also comes from the Applied Bachelor’s degree (D4) level won by Muhammad Fadhli. The graduate of the D4 Study Program of the Instrumentation Engineering Technology Department, ITS Instrumentation Engineering Department pocketed a GPA of 3.78. Although initially he had difficulties because he did not have an electrical background during high school, his diligence in studying the basics of instruments since the third semester successfully brought him to rise and even successfully achieved a perfect Semester Grade Point Average (IPS) of 4.0 in the following semester.

Unlike conventional learning methods, the young man who is often called Fadhli relied more on hands-on practice through various lecturer projects. He implemented this field experience in his Final Project (TA) in the form of making a Heat Exchanger Simulator tool. The tool developed with ITS funding support has now been donated as a practicum facility in the Safety System laboratory of the ITS Instrumentation Engineering Department to help his juniors learn.

Despite having a tight schedule as a laboratory assistant and a board member of the ITS Vocational Faculty Student Executive Board (BEM), Fadhli was still able to maintain his academic performance until graduation. Currently, Fadhli, who will be graduating tomorrow, Saturday (18/4), has pioneered a career at PT Sucofindo which is a vendor for PT Freeport Indonesia in Gresik. As a closing message for other students, he emphasized the importance of humility in learning. “No matter how smart you are, always liken yourself to an empty glass so that you are always ready to receive new knowledge,” he reminded.

The achievement of these two best graduates also becomes real evidence of the ITS academic community’s contribution in supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through social inclusivity research by Christo, ITS supports SDGs point 10 regarding Reduced Inequalities. Meanwhile, Fadhli’s practicum tool innovation and work readiness in the industrial sector align with SDGs point 4 regarding Quality Education as well as point 9 regarding Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Nur Anisa Alya Eriska