BANDUNG, fmipa.itb.ac.id, –Graduating Doctoral Program in Mathematics ITB at the age of 24, Maya Nabila completed Doctoral Program session on Monday, February 26, 2024 under the supervisory of Prof. Edy Tri Baskoro, Ph.D., and Prof. Hilda Asiyyatun, Ph.D. Maya was happy and sad after completing Doctoral Program session. She explained, “Sad because I have to immediately return to my hometown, but also happy because I have completed my responsibilities and obligations.”

Growing up as a person who prioritized education, Maya was motivated by her father who was also a mathematics lecturer. The father was able to go to many places while continuing his master’s and doctoral studies under the supervisory of Prof. Edy Tri Baskoro. This makes Maya think that through education, we can explore the world.

Receiving the spotlight as one of the youngest graduates of the Doctoral Program cannot be separated from Maya’s story of being able to complete all levels of educational studies quickly. The reason behind this success was that when she was about to enter high school, Maya was worried about not being able to enter a top state school, so she chose to try taking the entrance test to one of the top private schools in Padang which at that time also offered an accelerated class program. In addition, the existing undergraduate curriculum is able to accommodate completion of the undergraduate program in 7 semesters. Meanwhile, Master’s and Doctoral degrees can be achieved within a period of four years because they are supported by the Masters-Doctoral Program for Excellent Bachelors (PMDSU/Program Magister Doktor Untuk Sarjana Unggul). Her disciplined attitude also plays a greater role in reaching this achievement, such as always carrying a laptop wherever she goes, so she can still do research in her free time.

While taking Doctoral Program, Maya has had many interesting experiences. Maya took a research topic in the field of Combinatorics, minimal Ramsey graph theory which is an extension study of Ramsey Theory. Ramsey’s theory states that in every irregular structure there is an ordered substructure. According to Maya, this is interesting to research. Maya said, “The laboratory for a mathematician is our own head. The interesting thing about this research is that it is also not tied to place, time, or money.” This flexibility allowed Maya to undertake a student exchange for four months at the Technical University of Košice, Slovakia.

After completing her doctoral program, Maya is very open to all forms of work related to the knowledge she already has. If she has the opportunity, Maya plans to continue her post-doctoral studies in fields and topics similar to the research she has conducted.

As for fellow Doctoral Program fighters, Maya conveyed a message, “For friends who are pursuing doctorates in general, I hope you continue to survive. Don’t worry, we all have different paces and timelines. If a friend finishes first, maybe that is their time to finish. If we have not finished yet, maybe we need to evaluate and look at the bright side. Meanwhile, for fellow Doctor of Mathematics fighters, the results of our research will not always produce results, especially for those of us who work in the theoretical field. There is no need to be discouraged, the important thing is that we continue to work and complete our responsibilities very well.”

Hopefully, Dr. Maya Nabila’s story in pursuing her doctorate can be an inspiration and make us continue to be enthusiastic about pursuing our dreams.