Dr Kyatmaja Lookman Bcom SH MBA (left) and Dr Ira Margaritha Sugianto BSc SH MTM (right) with their sons and daughters after the ITS Doctoral Promotion Open Session at Hotel Bumi Surabaya

ITS Campus, ITS News – again adding to the list of graduates with doctoral degrees. Interestingly, this time it was a married couple from the ITS Technology Management Doctoral Program (DMT) who won a doctorate together after being declared graduates at the Doctoral Promotion Open Session which took place at Hotel Bumi Surabaya, Wednesday (25/1).

Both are Dr Kyatmaja Lookman Bcom SH MBA and Dr Ira Margaritha Sugianto BSc SH MTM. The man who is often called Kyat revealed that he and his wife both had a desire to further study in the field of technology management. This is supported because both of them are managers of PT Lookman Djaja which is a service company in the field of domestic freight forwarding. “As company managers, we must have qualified knowledge,” said Kyat.

In the struggle to complete their research, the second and third doctoral partners of the ITS DMT Program claimed to support and encourage one another. In fact, not infrequently the two of them discussed and corrected each other regarding the research being carried out. “It’s interesting to be able to study and go around together,” said the Surabaya-born man.

Dr. Kyatmaja Lookman Bcom SH MBA when presenting his dissertation entitled The Ability to Innovate Truck Companies to Remain Competitive in the Industrial Age 4.0 at Hotel Bumi Surabaya

Meanwhile, his wife added, there were challenges in completing her research dissertation. They have two daughters and a son who are still under parental supervision, so time management between parental roles and student roles must be managed properly. “It’s not uncommon for children to feel that we don’t pay attention to them because of the amount of time we spend on completing dissertations,” said Ira.

Dr. Ira Margaritha Sugianto BSc SH MTM when presenting her dissertation at the Doctoral Promotion Open Session at Hotel Bumi Surabaya

However, thanks to each other’s support, both of them were finally able to graduate 2.5 years with Cumlaude predicate. Kyat won his doctoral degree with a dissertation entitled The Ability to Innovate Truck Companies to Remain Competitive in the Industrial Age 4.0. Meanwhile, Ira with a dissertation research entitled Business Continuity Management in Land Transport Business to Survive Covid-19 Pandemic: A Study of Indonesian Trucking Business.

The two dissertations both use the object of research at PT Lookman Djaja. Kyat’s research aims to increase the ability to innovate in trucking companies. Meanwhile, Ira’s research provides an analysis of company size in improving the performance and resilience of trucking companies during a pandemic.

Dr Kyatmaja Lookman Bcom SH MBA when presenting his dissertation entitled The Ability to Innovate Truck Companies to Remain Competitive in the Industrial Age 4.0 at the Bumi Surabaya Hotel

The couple who are happy for the title they won believe that the long process in every journey to success, never giving up is the main key. That way, you will get used to the rejections that occur in life. “We must be ready with all the conditions that are given to strengthen ourselves going forward,” concluded the alumnus of the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Rayinda Santriana US