Muhamad Prabu Wibowo

Why FSU?

The FSU School of Information (iSchool) has top-ranking programs, distinguished professors, diverse and multidisciplinary curriculum, great facilities, and a great climate and location. Many FSU iSchool professors are excellent in their fields and contribute a lot to the information field and to the community. They have diverse research interests that cover multidisciplinary aspects of information that give me the flexibility to study anything. The FSU iSchool curriculum also fits my previous background and experiences that help me broaden my horizon and sharpen my skills and knowledge. The iSchool has modern facilities and labs, such as the Innovation Hub. Since FSU is located in the South, the climate is similar to what I have in my home country, Indonesia. This made it easy for me to adapt. It feels like home to be here in Tallahassee and at FSU.

Motivation to pursue a graduate degree

While a university student at the bachelor's degree level, I was involved in many research projects with my professors. My professor saw my talents and convinced me that I was competent to pursue a career in academia. After completing my bachelor's degree, I was offered a job to become my professor's assistant. Since that time, I have enjoyed being in academia. However, being at the technical level for a long time made me realize that I need to understand theories and concepts. I realized that I need to step up my skills and knowledge. A graduate degree could help me sharpen my skills, knowledge, and critical thinking. I hope I can broaden my horizon and perspectives in my field, better understand concepts, theories, and various methods to conduct rigorous studies. For me, living and studying abroad offers countless opportunities, such as a better environment and facilities. In addition, I believe that studying abroad will allow me to grow a bigger international network, meet new people, and experience new things. Therefore, I set my goal to pursue my education abroad.

Importance and/or impact of research and work

My current research explores current practices and policies of open health research data in university environments. Open health research data is an idea of making health data publicly available and sharable to others. Our society is always about learning from previous generations. A university is a prominent place to produce health-related data and knowledge. Opening and sharing health data can help in shaping e-science, modern society, and industry for a better future—by utilizing health data for knowledge development and better public health services. Open health data has been proven to be useful by allowing faster collaboration in solving various global problems, including getting out of the COVID-19 pandemic by finding a faster cure. However, it also brings many issues regarding privacy, confidentiality, trust, ownership, and control of data. My dissertation can inform universities, research institutions, and health facilities navigating best practices and developing open-oriented and sharable health sciences big data repositories and policies to minimize issues while maximizing benefits.

Career aspirations

A doctoral Program in Information Science has helped me hone my research and teaching skills with invaluable experiences. I hope to become a prolific professor in library and information science in Indonesia who can publish books and research studies in the field. I also hope that I can help develop science and knowledge and apply what I have learned to be useful in the community and help solve many problems in society. I will also do my best to transfer all of my knowledge to all of my future students.

Advice for anyone considering graduate school

Graduate school is a continuation of your education journey. You need to choose a study program that you love and can accommodate your needs and interests but that can also fit your previous background and experiences. You also need to find good reasons to pursue a graduate program. Find your passions. Once you figure out those reasons and passions, use them as your motivation. Understanding those reasons is important to excel and survive in graduate programs. Since it is a journey, there are ups and downs. Graduate school requires commitment and hard work. However, you also need to balance academics, healthy life, and fun activities.

Accomplishments during your graduate career

In 2010, I won Turkish government scholarships to continue my master's degree in Information Systems at Middle East Technical University in Turkey. In 2013, I won the Erasmus Mobility award to fund my program in Computer Science at Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden. I won a Fulbright scholarship to fund my PhD program in Information Science at FSU. From 2020 - 2022, I won outstanding doctoral research awards. In 2022, I also won an outstanding teaching assistant award. I won an overseas travel grant from AICEF (The American-Indonesian ​Cultural & Educational Foundation, Inc) for my dissertation study.