COMING from a poor family, Suharso became one of the youngest professors in Lampung. Friends of Suharso at SD Negeri 6 Tanjungkarang Bandar Lampung, knows him as a disobedient, stubborn but a loyal person. Sometimes little Suharso fought for the sake of defending his friends.
But his temperament did not last long. When he was in class IV her favorite teacher, Irene, gave him a punishment. The teacher also gave him wise advice. Since then his attitude changed 360 degrees.
Irene’s discourse had awakened his consciousness up. As the eldest of seven siblings, Suharso was reminded that his burden was to support the family’s finances in the future. So, his temper will be unhelpful for his future.
Reflecting on that time, he began to be motivated to always prioritize education to pursue success. Slowly but sure, young Suharso took off his brutality and became an extraordinary hunger for knowledge and academic achievement.
Wise advice combined with enthusiasm has turned the wheel of his destiny. Now people know him as the Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) University of Lampung (Unila). In the academic realm, he also holds the title of professor. He is a Professor of Chemistry at his alma mater in college.
However, as a child of a construction worker, the story in pursuing tertiary education until he got the title of professor would certainly not be obtained easily for him. The misery of life continues to be passed step by step. “To be an extraordinary person we must come from a life journey that is no less extraordinary,” Suharso said, describing his life path.
Suharso remembered to enter college, he tried to attend courses while working to help dad as a construction worker. He also works as a bus conductor, working in a repair shop, washing people’s cars, and become a private teacher.
All those were done with a monthly wage to finance his school until graduate. “After work in the evening, I went to my friends and collected their notes to study autodidact because they didn’t have textbooks to study,” he said.
However, even though being tired and struggling for life, the man who was born in Bandar Lampung, May 30, 1969, was able to carve academic achievement. From middle school to high school, the overall champion never moved away from him. His character also developed through organizational activities. He was the Head of Scouts, Red Cross Youth (PMR) in Bandarlampung.
When the selection of state universities (PTN) is opened, Suharso linked his choice to the University of Lampung (Unila) with a major in pure chemistry. It was his favorite subject when he was in high school. When the announcement was out, Suharso passed. But behind the good news, he faced a dilemma. “Then what about tuition fee,” he said at the time.
As a person with a financial problem, Suharso claimed to never ask for money. That’s his attitude since childhood. Nevertheless, a glimmer of hope came when the family of one of his best friends knew his difficulties at the time. They helped him to pay the tuition fees.
Dreamed to become a soldier but then he decided to become a lecturer after he entered college. He took it as an opportunity because there were only a few lecturers who graduated from Unila at that time. Many people regretted his decision to become a chemistry lecturer rather than a campus activist. But Suharso was able to prove that his choice was not wrong with his current status.
Time Management Skill
Suharso is known as a diligent and intelligent person. It’s proven when he became a first-year graduate earlier than his friends. He’s being motivated to be the best among his friends. With his time management skill, Suharso became the youngest person who graduated in FMIPA.
Suharso did not only do well in academics, but he was also known as an activist. He held various positions ranging from the Head of Student, The Student Executive Board (BEM) of Faculty, to the Vice President of BEM of University.
Suharso always got a scholarship during college because of the skill he has when he activated on campus or extracurricular. In fact, he had never demanded or hoped for. Furthermore, after completing his undergraduate, he was immediately appointed as a Chemistry lecturer.
Not only that, but he also got two Decree at the same time for intern allowance decree and civil servant test participation. Since then, he has thought of continuing his doctoral studies and studying abroad. To realize his dream, he diligently attended English language courses, to practice his communication skills in the international language.
After teaching for a few years, his career became more uphill. He was also appointed as a secretary of the department based on the recommendation of Siti Sujalmi, the Dean of FMIPA.
At that time, Suharso also received a scholarship from World Bank to continue his master’s degree in Perth and Melbourne, Australia. This organic chemistry lecturer took Perth because there were many Indonesian communities lived there.
As the collapse of President Soeharto, that funds to live in Australia were hampered. He did side jobs to get the money comparable to the amount of scholarship fees In fact, he saved little excess for the necessities for life expense for more than five years.
Because of his achievements, his graduate degree was immediately converted to the postgraduate. However, he was asked to go back to Indonesia because Unila needed more teaching staff. Finally, he asked his tutor to help him complete his doctorate within one year.
After completing his doctorate, Suharso got a lot of conveniences. Rector of Unila, Muhajir Utomo, began promoting Suharso as a professor in 2007 and then his name entered in 2009. He got his title as a professor in two months.
It seems miraculous, but Suharso could prove it by taking part in the competency test for a Professor that held in Jakarta in August. Then, the test was discussed at the meeting in September and on October 1, 2009, after the transition from Bambang Sudibyo to Muhammad Nuh, a decree of Minister of National Education signed. Suharso confirmed as a professor in the following year.
Shortly after becoming a professor, with his vision and mission to build a better FMIPA Unila, in 2011 Suharso was elected to be the Dean of FMIPA until 2015.
He claimed the spirit of hard-working to pursue his obsession never fade since childhood. Not only that, but he also equipped with wisdom in living life so he rarely make wrong steps.
As one of the youngest professors in Lampung, Suharso had the key to get success, the key was to live the vision and the dream. He was more determined to write down his hopes to make his dreams come true since he was in high school. Therefore, when he entered the business world, he was determined to succeed through the profession he had chosen. Besides, focus on working and being sincere in dealing with problems can lead to consistent in achieving goals
Then, his forward-thinking made Suharso became a person who does not only have a futuristic mindset, but also creative and innovative. His maturity also made him more mature in life during the competition in the current era.
Biodata
Name: Prof. Suharso, S.Sc., Ph.D.
Place and Date of Birth : Bandarlampung, May 30, 1969
Spouse: Ida Fitriani Dwiyanti
Children:
- Sulaksana Hasan Rabbani ,17 years old (undergraduate of International Relation at FISIP Unila, semester I,)
- Sawsan Latifa Suharso, 13 years old (Alkautsar Junior High School, class VII,)
- Anisah Mufiidah, 11 years old (Alkautsar Elementary School, class VI)
- Ghilman Nur Ramadani, 9 years(SDIT PermataBunda 3, class III,)
Educational Background
1 SD Negeri 6 Tanjungkarang Bandar Lampung 1983
2 SMP Negeri 5 Tanjungkarang Bandar Lampung 1986
3 SMA Negeri 2 Tanjungkarang Bandar Lampung 1989
4 Undergraduate (S-1) Universitas Lampung Bandar Lampung 1993 (Major in Chemistry)
5 Doktor (S-3) Curtin University of Technology Perth-Australia 2003 Applied Chemistry
Nonformal Education
- Training on the use of potentially patent research results by the Directorate General of Higher Education in Jakarta, 2011.
- Training on writing international scientific articles by the Directorate General of Higher Education in Jakarta, 2008
- Quality Assurance for Higher Education and Training Institutions in the Asian Institute of Technology, KlongLuang, Pathumthani, Thailand Bangkok / Thailand 2006
- Workshop on AFM Advance for Crystal Growth at the University of Adelaide Adelaide / Australia 2003
- Workshop on SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) for Crystal Growth in the University of Western Australia Perth / Australia 2000
- Workshop on Crystal Growth for Industry Perth / Australia 1998
Job Experiences
1 Lecturer at FMIPA Unila in 1995 – Now
2 Secretary of Department of Chemistry FMIPA Unila1996 – 1998
3 Secretary of Department of Chemistry FMIPA Unila2004 – 2008
4 Acting Dean of FMIPA Unila2011 – 2012
5 Dean of FMIPA Unila2012 – 2016
Organizational History
- Chair of Science and Technology and Secretary of the Council ofICMI Lampung Regional Office 2006 – 2011
- Chairman of BKPRMI (Indonesian Youth and Youth Coordination Agency) Lampung Province 2007 – 2010 and 2010 – 2014
- Vice Chairperson of Indonesian Teaching Staff Association 2008 – 2013
- Board of Experts of Indonesian Farmers and Fishermen Association in Lampung 2011 – 2016
- Secretary II of Indonesian Chemistry Association (HKI) in Lampung 2005 – 2010 and member 2010 – 2015
- Chair I of ICMI Orsat Western Australia 1998 – 2002
- Chairman of Student Senate University of Lampung University I 1992-1993
- Chairperson of Student Senate FMIPA Unila 1991 – 1992
- Chairman I of PMR Inti Bandar Lampung 1986 – 1988
- Chairman I of Boy Scouts Gudep 45 SMAN 2 Tanjungkarang 1987 – 1988
