Dr. Pramaditya Wicaksono has made history at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) as the youngest professor to be appointed by the university at the age of 35 and 11 months.
Dr. Wicaksono is an expert in remote sensing for coastal biodiversity at the UGM Faculty of Geography. He earned the professor title on June 1, 2023, but would deliver his inaugural professorial lecture in March 2024.
He broke the youngest professor record held by Professor Agung Endro Nugroho from the UGM Faculty of Pharmacy, who achieved the title at 36 years and nine months.
His academic career path is unique. He jumped directly from the assistant professor position to professor without first holding the associate professor position. He met the required credit points for a professor application.
For Dr. Wicaksono, becoming a professor at a young age is a blessing. While he had a specific goal of becoming a professor before age 40, he never expected to achieve it at his current age.
“My target was to become a professor before the age of 40, but I never thought I would become the youngest professor at UGM at 35,” he said on Tuesday (September 5).
The Semarang-born professor explained that his accelerated promotion to professor was due to his research and scientific publications’ productivity.
He averages five scientific publications annually, totaling 55 publications in reputable national and international journals. He has also produced 76 writings published in proceedings, book chapters, bulletins, and mass media.
“I enjoy research and writing; my passion lies there, so I am happy to do it. I also focus on the field of science I am pursuing, allowing me to be productive and contribute to the field,” he explained.
He also feels that his ability to reach the professor position quickly was aided by his appointment to various positions within the faculty. Dr. Wicaksono is the Head of the Cartography and Remote Sensing Program at the Department of Geographic Information Science.
He holds several other positions in the faculty, including Coordinator of the Coastal Biodiversity Remote Sensing Group, Coordinator of the Blue Carbon Research Group, Advisor to the Geographic Information Science Student Association, and a member of the Editorial Board of the Indonesian Journal of Geography (IJG).
Previously, he served as the Secretary of the Domestic Collaboration Unit at the Faculty of Geography and the Secretary of the Department of Geographic Information Science.
In the global arena, Dr. Wicaksono is the Deputy Chair of WG V/5 – Education and Awareness in Blue Economy and Coastal Marine Environment, Commission V ISPRS (The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing).
“My appointment to positions within the faculty helped because I earned credits related to educational implementation each semester, “ he explained.
“This was an addition because if it were only based on teaching and mentoring students, I might not have earned the required credits for educational implementation that are prerequisites for becoming a professor.”
For him, attaining the professor position is not the end of his academic career journey; it’s just the beginning. Being a professor opens up more significant opportunities for advancing and disseminating knowledge to the public.
“As a full professor, I am like the locomotive that drives knowledge development within the institution. Therefore, the opportunities for knowledge development become greater, and we can be more active in educating the public,” he explained.
Dr. Wicaksono completed his bachelor’s degree in Cartography and Remote Sensing at the Faculty of Geography in 2008, with three years and 11 months of study. Despite completing his studies relatively quickly, he was not just an academic bookworm.
With good time management, he engaged in various activities typical of a university student. He spent time with friends, played in a band, participated in student organizations, and worked as a laboratory assistant and research assistant for faculty members.
After completing his undergraduate studies, he immediately pursued his master’s degree in Geography, focusing on Coastal and Watershed Management Planning, at the UGM Faculty of Geography in 2008, using the Dikti Scholarship.
While pursuing his master’s degree, he joined the Interpretation of Images and Integrated Surveys Education Center as an assistant. After completing his master’s, he received a doctoral scholarship from the Center for Natural Resources and Development (CNRD) program, funded by DAAD Germany.
He didn’t miss this opportunity and enrolled in the joint doctoral program in Geography focusing on Remote Sensing at the UGM Faculty of Geography and the Cologne University of Applied Sciences in Germany.
“So, I applied to become a lecturer at the Faculty of Geography while pursuing my doctoral,” he said.
He applied for a lecturer position because it suited his character as an explorer. He also enjoys storytelling, sharing experiences, and meeting new people.
“Yes, because I am an explorer by nature. I thought I would become a lecturer if I didn’t become a researcher. However, after some thought, I realized that if I became a researcher, there might be times when I would get bored with research,” he recalled.
“On the other hand, being a lecturer allows me to engage in the tri dharma of higher education, including research, teaching, and community service, which is much more diverse.”
He mentioned that since starting his doctoral studies, he has researched extensively on developing remote sensing methods for seagrass mapping as carbon sinks. He revealed that Indonesia is a global seagrass hotspot, including being one of the countries with the highest seagrass species diversity in the world.
Seagrass beds have the potential to absorb and bury carbon up to 35 times more efficiently than tropical forests. However, currently, there is no precise data on the extent of seagrass beds in the country because each institution conducts mapping differently.
Recognizing this potential and the current situation, he leads the national seagrass mapping collaboration with the National Research and Innovation Agency, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the Indonesian Geospatial Information Agency, Hasanuddin University, and The University of Queensland.
He is also developing an automated method for mapping carbon stocks on seagrass surfaces using Sentinel-2 satellite images.
Author: Ika