Happy portrait of the couple, Prof Herman Pratikno ST MT PhD and Prof Harmin Sulistyaning Titah ST MT PhD, after conferred together as professors at ITS

ITS Campus, ITS News — The married couple, Prof Herman Pratikno ST MT PhD and Prof Harmin Sulistyaning Titah ST MT PhD, experienced a special and unforgettable moment. During the Professor’s Inauguration ceremony at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), the couple jointly received their professorship. The event took place in the Auditorium of the ITS Research Center Building on Thursday (7/3).

On this happy occasion, Herman, who also serves as the Head of the ITS Ocean Engineering Department, received his professorship in the Material Science and Bio-corrosion field in Maritime Structures at the Faculty of Marine Technology (FTK) at ITS. Meanwhile, his wife, Harmin, a lecturer at the ITS Environmental Engineering Department, received her professorship in the Environmental Biological Recovery field at the Faculty of Civil, Planning, and Geo-Engineering (FTSPK) at ITS.

Reminiscing his story, Herman, the 199th professor at ITS, shared that he first met his wife when they were both undergraduate students at ITS. The man, born on April 15, 1973, in Surabaya, participated actively in the ITS Judo Student Activity Unit (UKM Judo). In 1998, Assistant Rector III of ITS introduced the man to his future wife.

Prof Harmin Sulistyaning Titah ST MT PhD (right) and Prof Herman Pratikno ST MT PhD (left) with their first son after the doctoral graduation ceremony at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

Since then, the parents of Muhammad Raihan Hanif and Naisya Liyana Zuhra have continued almost all their activities in the academic field simultaneously. It began with their story of pursuing master’s degrees at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and completing their doctoral studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) together. “Alhamdulillah, in continuing our studies, we always received the same scholarships,” Herman recalled gratefully.

In navigating through all of these things, the couple, who have been in the household for almost 25 years, admitted to working together. Despite having different fields of expertise, both Herman and Harmin assist each other in their research endeavors. The same goes for everyday issues and financial matters. “We adhere to the principle of helping each other if there are difficulties,” the ITS Muay Thai UKM coach said.

Portrait of the family togetherness of Prof Herman Pratikno ST MT PhD and Prof Harmin Sulistyaning Titah ST MT PhD, while performing the Umrah together some time ago

Unexpectedly, the story of struggle and togetherness has continued to thrive until now. Uniquely, the Professor’s Decree (SK) from the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Mendikbudristek) for this couple was issued almost simultaneously. “It was even just a few minutes apart,” Herman, who was touched, said.

Responding to this, Harmin also expressed deep emotions. This 198th professor at ITS considers their joint highest achievement in the academic world a great blessing from the Creator. Herman and Harmin hope that their knowledge will have a beneficial effect on their surroundings in the future. “We also hope to continue developing ITS together in the future,” the woman, born in Malang on May 23, 1975, said hopefully. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Mifda Khoirotul Azma

Translator: Alya Farah Nabila