Academic achievement doesn't come from individual ability alone. Behind it lies a learning environment that offers room to grow, lecturers who provide guidance, supportive facilities, and opportunities for students to develop their interests and potential. This is reflected in the journey of Hanny Handayani Sucinta, the fastest top graduate of the Fourth Commencement of the 2025/2026 Academic Year from the Master's in Informatics program at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's Faculty of Science and Technology (FST).
With a GPA of 3.85, Hanny completed her master's degree through an academic journey that drew her closer to what has become her passion: Artificial Intelligence (AI). Beyond studying AI academically, during her time at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta she also had the opportunity to develop research, collaborate across universities, take part in academic forums, and produce innovations that earned intellectual property rights (HAKI).
For Hanny, completing her studies is a deeply meaningful achievement. But beyond the degree and academic accolades, she sees her graduation as the result of a journey that shaped her into a more mature person.
“Alhamdulillah, I'm truly grateful and relieved. Completing this master's degree has been a deeply meaningful academic journey that really matured the way I think,” Hanny said.
She also dedicated the achievement to her parents and family, who have given her prayers and support throughout.
“But my greatest pride comes from the moment I could dedicate this achievement to my parents and family, as a small way of repaying all their prayers and sacrifices,” she said.
Hanny's path into the world of AI didn't begin right away. She even admits she once felt she had chosen the wrong major during her undergraduate studies. Her interest in AI only truly took shape once she continued on to her master's degree at UIN Sunan Kalijaga.
“Back in my undergraduate years, I took a pure AI course only because I didn't want to burden my group project teammates. Even right up until I graduated, I still often felt like I'd picked the wrong major,” she recalled.
Once she entered her master's program, her academic experience changed. She found a field that let her genuinely enjoy the process of learning and research.
“It turned out that, without even realizing it, my true passion and greatest interest were in AI all along,” she said.
For Hanny, finding a field that matched her interests was one of the most important experiences of her time in graduate school. The long process of research brought her genuine satisfaction whenever she managed to discover something new and useful.
This journey shows that an educational environment does not just impart knowledge, it also helps students recognize their potential and find the field they want to pursue further.
That's exactly what Hanny experienced during her time at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. She said the university gives students ample room to grow, through facility support, faculty mentorship, research funding, and opportunities to publish and develop their work.
“If I had to sum it up in one sentence, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta truly supports everything from start to finish,” she said.
According to Hanny, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's support for student development isn't limited to physical facilities; it's also reflected in an academic culture that encourages students to be bold in trying new things and producing work.
One of the facilities that supported her research process was the High Performance Computer (HPC), which allows students to carry out the high-level computation needed for AI research development.
But facilities weren't the only factor that helped Hanny develop her potential. She also felt strong support from her lecturers throughout her academic and research process, including encouragement to attend conferences, publish her research findings, and register her work for intellectual property rights.
For Hanny, that support created a sense of safety for students to experiment and develop their ideas.
“Having such comprehensive, all-in facilities made us students feel safe and confident enough to innovate, because all the space and support we needed had already been so well provided,” she said.
Through this ecosystem, Hanny developed not only her academic abilities, but also a broader view of technology. She said UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta taught her that Informatics doesn't have to stand alone, it can become a tool to help solve problems in other fields.
“I feel like the university really prepares its students to become adaptive problem solvers in the real world,” she said.
That experience is reflected in Hanny's involvement in several collaborative research projects, including a disaster preparedness study conducted with Universitas Indonesia.
In that research, Hanny and the UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta team contributed to developing a Decision Support System by examining real needs on the ground. That experience introduced her to a new perspective: that technology has to be developed based on actual problems and user needs.
“I really came to understand that designing a disaster response system cannot just be based on theory in a lab, you have to be willing to go out into the field and truly listen to what disaster management agencies are actually struggling with,” she explained.
This collaborative experience also reinforced her view on the importance of cross-disciplinary openness. She sees UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's academic environment as one that pushes students not to get trapped within the boundaries of a single discipline.
According to Hanny, this approach is one of UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's strengths, technology can be brought together with agriculture, the environment, and social and community issues to produce more relevant solutions.
“It's incredibly supportive. Honestly, this ecosystem at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta is ultimately what shaped my way of thinking into something far more open,” she said.
She added that her learning experience at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta also helped her see the connections between technology, social norms, and religious values.
“At UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, I learned to bring together technological innovation with social and religious norms,” she said.
These experiences have equipped Hanny for the next step in her journey after completing her studies. She has been accepted as a lecturer at a private university in Cikarang and will be teaching in Pekanbaru.
This step is a continuation of her interest in academia and research. As both a lecturer and a researcher, she wants to keep broadening her horizons, exploring different fields of knowledge, and building research collaborations.
She carries with her a principle that also serves as the motto of her thesis: “I wanna be a walking Encyclopedia.”
“I have a real thirst to explore knowledge as widely as I possibly can,” she said.
Looking ahead, Hanny hopes to bring her academic experience into the global research arena and take part in international collaborative projects.
Hanny's story shows that student achievement can flourish when individual potential meets a supportive academic ecosystem. Support in the form of facilities, faculty mentorship, funding, collaboration opportunities, publication, and intellectual property development all become part of a journey that shapes students into more than just graduates, into academics ready to make a broader contribution.
For students currently in the middle of their own research process, Hanny offers this advice: don't be afraid of hitting a wall, and keep giving yourself the chance to grow.
“Feeling stuck during research is completely normal,” she said.
She encouraged students not to feel discouraged and to keep trying different things until they find the field that truly matches their passion.
“Whatever happens, keep going. Never get tired of experimenting. Keep moving forward, and eventually, you'll find your home, the place where your passion and your true self really belong,” she said in closing. (humassk)