A bright smile lit up the face of Aji Bambang Sasongko as he successfully earned his Applied Bachelor’s degree during the Applied Bachelor Graduation Ceremony for the Academic Year 2025/2026 Period I, held on Wednesday (Nov. 26) at Grha Sabha Pramana. Among the 423 applied bachelor graduates, Sasongko was named the youngest, completing his degree at 20 years and 8 months with a GPA of 3.79 (cum laude). In comparison, the average age of graduates from the program is 22 years and 6 months.
The young man from Tasikmalaya, West Java, said he was deeply moved and grateful to be recognized as the youngest graduate on his commencement day.
He had already shown strong determination since secondary school, completing an acceleration program from junior high school to senior high school (SMPN 1 Tasikmalaya to SMAN 1 Tasikmalaya).
“Thanks to my mother’s encouragement, I was able to enter university at the age of 16,” he said on Tuesday (Dec. 2).
Graduating early was one of his goals, Sasongko shared, although his nearly four-year academic journey (3 years and 11 months) was not without challenges.
He pursued the Applied Bachelor’s program in Instrumentation and Control Engineering Technology while also taking a non-degree program in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City for one semester through the IISMA program initiated by Indonesia’s Ministry of Higher Education.
His interest in technology motivated Sasongko to participate in various competitions, including an applied innovation contest, where he won.
In the field of robotics, he completed his final project on robust system control using Cascade Sliding Mode Control, which successfully stabilized drone positioning with high accuracy against setpoints and external disturbances.
Behind his achievements, Sasongko worked part-time to meet daily needs and pay his tuition since his first year of study.
“I once worked so many part-time jobs that I was at risk of not being able to finish my studies,” he recalled.
Nevertheless, he expressed deep appreciation and gratitude to those who motivated him, including his course instructor, Fakih Irsyadi, his final project supervisor, Jans Hendry, and fellow student activists in the UGM Student Executive Board (BEM KM).
“You don’t have to be the youngest graduate; being able to finish is already rewarding enough after all the effort. I always hold onto William Shakespeare’s words in Hamlet: To be, or not to be, that is the question,” he said.
Author: Hanifah
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Rajendra Arya
Photographs: Aji Bambang Sasongko