Back to Campus — My Ph.D. Journey, Doctor of Computer Science

Three Years of a Highly Challenging Academic Life

**Dr. Andi Sama— **CIO, Sinergi Wahana Gemilang

Refer to “Back to Campus — Navigating the Qualification Exam: A Doctoral Student’s Journey” (Andi Sama et al., 2025) for the early version of this article.

An ideal three-year journey for the doctoral study — regular track, Doctor of Computer Science, at Binus University.

TL; DR;
- Key milestones in completing doctoral studies at Binus University: 
  dissertation outline, courseworks with optional two conference papers, 
  colloquiums, first conference paper, proposal exam, qualification exam,
  first journal paper, research result exams, second journal paper,
  closed exam, open exam.
- Dr. (Cand.) title is awarded after passing the qualification exam.
- Dr. title is awarded after passing the open exam.
- Ideally the program can be completed in 6 semesters (3 years), 
  with maximum of 14 semesters (7 years). 

Completing a doctoral journey at Binus University's Doctor of Computer Science (DCS) program has been a highly challenging and rewarding experience. It's a doctoral degree by research (Dr.) in Indonesia or a Ph.D. degree (Doctor of Philosophy) in some parts of the world. The highest academic degree one can achieve in a formal education.

The three-year regular-track study focused on completing coursework, preparing a research proposal, attending national and international conferences as both attendees and speakers, conducting simulations and experiments, analyzing data and evaluations, including organizing, presenting, and publishing papers in conferences and journals. Additionally, it involved developing final reports for dissemination and dissertation purposes.

Having a reduced significant time to watch movies at cinemas and Netflix is common — especially in the first two years, as a lot of time is devoted to the process. Receiving multiple consecutive rejections (and acceptances) from conferences and journals can be mentally painful and challenging. However, once the students find ways to navigate those obstacles and keep retrying, progressing, and advancing to the next ones, it may eventually lead to a satisfactory outcome.

Moreover, it's common to stay awake for thousands of hours, many days and nights, including weekdays, weekends, and holidays, with countless glasses of coffee.

Motivation

My family believes that higher education has always been the key to unlocking a better future. The commitment has been so strong that it has pushed forward all family members, despite limited resources in many aspects along the way. Starting with me as the first child, I was accepted into a newly introduced major in 1987: a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering (CE) at STMIK Bina Nusantara (now Binus University).

My educational background is quite a mix. My first master's degree is in computer science (CS) from Benarif, with a focus on the software side, while my second master's degree is in general management from Binus University. Eventually, my three brothers and one sister completed their Bachelor's degrees (various majors) at Binus University. However, their master's and doctoral degrees were from either Binus University or other universities. Binus University's selection was just logical & natural at the time, driven by the perceived high quality of education for a better future.

A formal education in Indonesia — from the elementary (SD), high schools (SMP, SMA), bachelor's (Strata-1/S1), master's (Strata-2/S2), to doctoral degree (Strata-3/S3).

A formal education — from bachelor’s (S1), master’s (S2), to doctoral degree (S3).

For work-related reasons, International Business Machines (IBM) has always been a part of my life, both directly and indirectly. Starting from recruitment through STMIK Bina Nusantara, while I was just in the 7th semester, I was preparing to start working on my Bachelor's thesis. I spent eight years at IBM Indonesia & two years at IBM Asia Pacific in Singapore (a total of 10 years at IBM). For the next ten years, I worked for an IBM Business Partner. As of 2025, I have been with Sinergi Wahana Gemilang (SWG), a Value-Added Distributor in Indonesia, for 15 years, serving as co-founder, director, and Chief Information Officer (CIO).

SWG began participating in the Binus Industry Partnership Program (BIPP) in 2019, with active participation commencing in February 2020, when it started accepting 10 students. Internship assignments include job shadowing in Sales and Marketing, Cybersecurity, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Application Development.

Having early exposure to advanced & emerging technologies has been my passion, which led me to work at IBM as my first company. I have always been curious about new technologies. Being involved in early technological advancements has always been a part of my life's journey and exposed and experimented with the Internet in 1994 while it was still early in Indonesia, as well as industrial automation (1990), the Internet of Things (IoT) in early 2010 (Andi Sama, Cahyati S. Sangaji, 2023a), Quantum Computing in 2016 (Andi Sama, Cahyati S. Sangaji, 2021), Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2017 (Andi Sama, 2022b), and eXtended Reality in 2022.

Significant technological advancements have been challenging to track, especially over the last decade (Andisama, 2023d). Cloud, Big Data, IoT, Blockchain (Andi Sama, 2022a), and AI have been the key drivers in the 2010s. Quantum Computing is an exciting new emerging technology area, promising a leap forward to 2030 and beyond. In the 2020s, Industrial Automation has also been gaining momentum (Andi Sama, 2022c) as the IT/OT convergence towards Industry 4.0 is gaining more traction in Indonesia (Andi Sama, Cahyati S. Sangaji, 2023b).

In addition to supporting the business, these various technology exposures enabled the sharing of advanced technologies with the ecosystem, industry, and academia, while preparing better resources for the country.

The Preparation

As a friend, founder, and CEO at SWG, my boss has strongly supported me in pursuing a doctoral program at the Binus DCS. When I entered the program, Professor Meyliana, the former Vice Rector for Global Employment and Entrepreneurship at Bina Nusantara University (Binus University), strongly influenced me to begin my doctoral journey. She then became my promoter.

One of my life goals has been to complete my academic education to the highest level, meaning pursuing a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree, a long-term plan that has been my dream since I began pursuing my Bachelor's degree. With strong support from my work and family, I finally applied to the Doctor of Computer Science (DCS) program at Binus University in late 2022. The first year of coursework started in March 2023.

The latest advancements in Industry 4.0 have inspired me to pursue a DCS program at Binus University in this area of research. My topic is Industrial Automation (The Digital Transformation in the Era of Industry 4.0), which combines computer engineering, computer science, and information systems. The chosen concentration in the DCS program was Information Systems (IS), focusing on model or framework development, as suggested by the Binus DCS program panelists during a topic interview session in November 2022. Another concentration was Computer Science (CS), with a focus on algorithm development.

Along the way, although I was initially accepted into the IS concentration, the dissertation was realigned to algorithm development (CS concentration). The dissertation focused on modifying the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm for faster execution and lightweight applications, specifically for Industrial Automation (Modified Lightweight AES).

First Year — Completing The Coursework

As 2023 began, Indonesia made its first transition from the COVID-19 pandemic to an endemic. Consequently, students were allowed to choose between attending classes onsite or online, adopting a hybrid lecture delivery format.

While an academic advisor was appointed in the first semester, most activities involved attending lectures and completing assignments, similar to those required for bachelor's or master's degrees. The academic advisor later became the co-promotor for my dissertation.

The first-year lectures were conducted in the instructor-led setting with the following subjects. Each subject was delivered in 3 SCUs (Semester Credit Units).

• Research Methodologies (RM) — preparing students to develop research proposals (chapters 1 to 3, parts of the dissertation).
• Philosophy of Science (PoS)— understanding the philosophical positions toward chosen research topics.
• Research Trends in Information Systems (RTIS)— developing and submitting the literature review on chosen research topics. CS's subject equivalent was Software Metrics and Quality (SMQ).
• Advanced Knowledge System (AKS)—understanding advancements in knowledge systems within Information Systems. CS's subject equivalent was Knowledge and Information Retrieval (KIR).
• Advanced IT Governance (ITG)— Understanding IT governance as part of corporate governance: the responsibility of the organization's top executive to ensure that the organization's information technology supports its goals and objectives, using various structural mechanisms, processes, and mechanisms for communication/relationship. CS's subject equivalent was Advanced Soft Computing (ASC).

An academic advisor was also assigned in the middle of the first semester to assist students in preparing the research proposal, which is expected to be completed in the third semester. As part of completing the research proposal, three milestones served as checkpoints, namely colloquium-1, colloquium-2, and colloquium-3.

An ideal three-years journey to complete a doctoral degree at Binus University (1 of 2).

An ideal three-years journey to complete a doctoral degree at Binus University (2 of 2).

My First SLR Paper— Systematic Literature Review

Students were also expected to submit a manuscript to a conference and have it accepted as part of the exercise of writing a research proposal. For the IS concentration, we needed to submit an SLR-based manuscript as the final assignment for RTIS. For the CS concentration, an experimentation-based manuscript was expected for SMQ.

I submitted my first SLR manuscript, "*Acquiring Automation and Control Data in The Manufacturing Industry: A Systematic Review,*" for the ICCSCI Conference in Malang, Indonesia (Binus University, 2023b), approximately 1.5 months before the end of the first semester. Thankfully, it was accepted with minor revisions three weeks after submission and published in Procedia Computer Science in November 2023, with Scopus indexing in February 2024 (Andi Sama et al., 2023). It was a lucky beginner's experience.

The accepted manuscript was presented online at the conference approximately two months after acceptance, in the first week of August 2023. I was initially scheduled to be in Japan for Binus University's Immersion program; I thus selected an online presence for the paper presentation, as I initially thought the conference would be in late August rather than early August.

ICCSCI Conference in Binus University Campus, Malang, East Java, Indonesia — August 2–3, 2023.

The Typical Flow of Manuscript Submission to a Conference

The following illustrates the typical flow for submitting a manuscript to an International Conference until the accepted manuscript (the paper) is indexed by an indexing service.

Manuscript Preparation → Turnitin Check → Submit the Manuscript → Manuscript is Accepted/Rejected → If Accepted, Peer-Review process → Revise and Submit the Manuscript → Present at Conference → Paper is Published → Paper is Indexed.

Having an excellent, well-structured manuscript is critical to increasing your chances of acceptance. Although the requirements may vary, the typical content of a 5–6 page manuscript follows the IMRAD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion). A manuscript may be an SLR-type (Systematic Literature Review) or a Research-type (Quantitative, Qualitative, or Mixed Methods). The manuscript preparation can take a few weeks (for an SLR paper) to a few months (for a research paper, especially one involving experiments).

Before submitting a manuscript, conducting a similarity check with the Turnitin service is a good practice. A good accepted result is usually below 10% in similarity score, although specific conferences may tolerate a slightly higher score. A few days should be enough for several checks following revisions, until a good similarity score is achieved.

Submitting to a conference is a straightforward process; however, it is recommended to submit early rather than close to the submission deadline. Having an early submission (e.g., a few weeks before the deadline) could benefit from being reviewed early, even long before the deadline. If accepted with revisions, we will have sufficient time to complete the revisions rather than rush them, as the accepted date is close to the scheduled conference date.

Manuscript acceptance is the critical stage. Once accepted, implement the suggested revisions and prepare for the conference presentations, whether onsite or online. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many conferences have offered the option to attend in person or online, providing a hybrid experience. At least attend one conference onsite to gain some experience and have the opportunity to network with peer researchers from multiple disciplines from around the world.

Following the conference, publication of the paper will be primarily automatic within the next few months (e.g., in Procedia Computer Science and IEEE Xplore). Specific conferences may allow minor revisions, if any, before publication (e.g., correcting typos, improving figure layout, updating references). Once published, it will be scheduled for indexing (e.g., by Scopus) within the next few months.

Assignments and Final Exams

Typical assignments on any subject involve reading 50 or more papers related to our research topic. Sometimes, the summary needed to be sent to the lecturer as a written assignment, and at other times, the submitted assignment required a presentation.

The final exams for RTIS and SMQ were just paper submissions (the accepted paper, the letter of acceptance, and the Turnitin check result). The exam on PoS was in a written multiple-choice format, while AKS and KIR were in an essay-type format. For RM in particular, the student was required to submit presentation material and present it during the final exam, with content similar to a research proposal draft, a brief version of the research proposal. The final exam accounted for 40% of the total score for the respective subject.

Industry Visit to Fukuoka, Japan

Conducted in the fourth week of August 2023, the immersion program for DCS included a lecture on developing a mathematical model for optimization through linear programming by Prof. Takahashi, with one of the case studies examining the complexity of Japan's train network. The program, led by Prof. Tokuro Matsuo and Dr. Yulyani Arifin, included technical tours (industry visits) to several factories in a renewable Industrial area in Fukuoka, Japan (Binus University, 2023a).

This was the first scheduled immersion program since the DCS program at Bina Nusantara University (Binus University) started in 2014. I attended the one-week program with my wife, and we extended our stay in Japan by a few days to visit friends in other cities.

2nd semester in the First Year

At the beginning of the second semester, each doctoral student was assigned a promoter (a professor) and two co-promoters (two doctors). From this point forward, all future papers must include the names and affiliations of the promoter and co-promoters for submission to conferences or journals.

The paper must be accepted for publication in a Scopus-indexed international conference or journal, without targeting any specific quartile (Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4). Conference proceedings or journals listed in Q1 have been regarded as the most prestigious journals in the world, where all the very best top-of-the-world research is published.

The following number of papers is the minimum requirement for completing a doctoral degree at Binus University: papers with the names of the promoter and co-promoter, and the student who should be the first author.

• 1 (one) Scopus-indexed SLR or original paper submitted to and accepted in a Scopus-indexed International conference.
• 2 (two) Scopus-indexed original papers submitted to and accepted in the Scopus-indexed journals.

Conference Paper — My First Original Research Paper

Getting my SLR paper accepted at the conference is a significant accomplishment. However, the original research paper was challenging because it needed to present original research that compares state-of-the-art results with our better results, measured on specific metrics, including our contribution to the body of knowledge (theory implications) and the practical implications.

Another beginner's luck. My first original paper, titled "[Implementation of Lightweight PRNG on PLC for Industrial Control Systems](http://Implementation of Lightweight PRNG on PLC for Industrial Control Systems)," was accepted at the ICICyTA 2023 conference in November 2023 (Telkom University, 2023) and presented in Bali, Indonesia, in mid-December 2023. The paper was published in the IEEE Xplore conference proceedings in February 2024 (Andi Sama et al., 2024b) and indexed by Scopus in March 2024.

The manuscript was submitted as a requirement for passing the ITG subject in the IS concentration in the second semester. For the CS concentration, it was the ASC subject.

ICICyTA Conference in Bali, Dec 13–15, 2023.

Completing the First Year of the Course Works

I completed my first year of study (successfully passing all course requirements) in February 2024, achieving a satisfactory GPA (Grade Point Average).

Closing the first year of the study, I have 3 accepted conference papers (2 SLR papers, 1 research paper). Two papers have been presented and published published (Procedia Computer Science, IEEE XPlore) while the latest one was scheduled for presentation. The first paper has been indexed by Scopus.

At the end of Feb 2024, one more research paper has also been submitted to a journal.

2nd Year — Research Proposal and Preparing for Dissertation

In addition to additional coursework, the second and third years were focused more on preparing and finalizing the research proposal and dissertation. There were 12 stages to reach the final destination to be eligible for a doctoral degree.

• 1–3. The First three stages were the colloquiums before the research proposal exam (to track progress in developing the research proposal).
• 4. Research proposal exam (prerequisite: accepted conference paper).
• 5. Qualification exam. After passing the exam, the student was declared and entitled to use the title: Dr. (Cand.).
• 6–8. Three symposiums before the dissertation symposium session (tracking the progress of completing the dissertation, for the dissertation to be considered 25%, 75%, and 90% complete). Prerequisite for the 2nd symposium: submission of the first journal paper.
• 9. Research result seminar (exam) or Seminar Hasil Penelitian (SHP) exam (prerequisite: accepted first journal paper).
• 10. Dissertation symposium (prerequisite: 2nd journal papers submission).
• 11. Dissertation (close) exam (prerequisite: accepted second journal paper).
• 12. Dissertation (open) exam. After passing the exam, the student is declared to have achieved a doctoral degree and is entitled to the Dr. title

Finishing Colloquiums, Research Proposal Exam, and Qualification Exam

I completed the colloquium-3 in April 2024, and the research proposal exam in June 2024. Finally, I passed the qualification exam in November 2024 and entitled to use the title Dr. (Cand.). This is a major milestone to achieve before completing the doctoral study by dissertation.

At this time, in addition to 3 published papers in conferences (2 have been indexed in Scopus), one more research paper is still in the process of being reviewed in the 2nd journal (got rejected in the 1st journal).

Conference Paper (RSCH9016) — My First Paper with Promotor and Co-Promotor as Co-Authors

My second SLR paper, "*Random Number Generator for Securing Data Exchange in Smart Factory — Recent Trends and Best Practices,*" was submitted in Dec 2023. It was accepted in Jan 2024 and presented in Feb 2024 at the ICCTech Conference in Bali, Indonesia (ICCT, 2024). In early July 2024, the paper was published in IEEE Xplore (Andi Sama et al., 2024a). Scopus then indexed it in late July 2024.

This conference paper served as a prerequisite for scheduling the research proposal exam (with a minimum status of 'submitted'). The paper was in the status 'accepted, waiting to be published' when I took the research proposal exam in June 2024.

ICCT Conference in Bali, Feb 1–3, 2024.

Journal Paper (RSCH9018) — My First Journal Paper (ICELELB → IJSSE) with Promotor and Co-Promotor as Co-Authors

Getting a few research papers accepted and published at conferences was an enriching experience. The next milestone was to submit the paper to a journal. A new experience, as the journal differs from the conference in that the review tends to be more rigorous with detailed comments. The requirement for a paper in a journal tends to be longer than just 5–6 pages for typical conferences. It is common for a journal to expect submissions to contain tens of pages. The review process also tends to be longer, lasting a few months or even exceeding one year.

I submitted my first paper — the original experiment-based research paper, "Lightweight PRNG for Embedded Systems in Industrial Automation & Control," to the ICIC Express Letter, Part B: Applications journal (ICIC International, 2024) in Feb 2024 and got a rejection confirmation by email in May 2024 with some good feedback from reviewers and associate editors. I was grateful for this.

Following the completion of the suggested revisions, which took me a couple of weeks to finish, I resubmitted the paper to a different journal in late May 2024, The International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering (IJSSE). The paper was accepted after xxx months following several rounds of reviews. The first round of review requests was for a significant revision (7 comments from the reviewers, plus some editorial board comments), received about two months after the submission (thank God it was not rejected). The timeline to respond to the journal's editorial board was only 11 calendar days. Following revisions, it was accepted in August 2024. A few months later, in August 2024, the paper was published and indexed by Scopus in September of the same year.

This first accepted journal paper was a prerequisite for scheduling the research results exam (SHP) to present the research findings.

Note that, as the one of the prerequisites for graduation in the Doctor of Computer Science program at Binus University, the accepted papers in the Scopus-indexed International conferences and journals can be any topics — as long as the topics are within the domain of computer science. However, it is preferable to have a strong alignment with our research topic.

RSCH9018 was not expected to be completed until the fourth semester at the earliest. I was fortunate to finish it early in the third semester.

The Typical Flow of Manuscript Submission to a Journal

The following illustrates the typical flow for submitting a paper to a journal, from submission to indexing by a service such as Scopus.

Manuscript Preparation → Turnitin Check → Submit the Manuscript → Accepted/Rejected → If Accepted, Peer-Review process → Revise and Submit → If Accepted, Make Payment → Proof Read → Submit the Revised Manuscript → Paper is Published → Paper is Indexed.

As we approach the end of 2024, I have earned the title of Dr. (Cand.). The article (Andi Sama et al., 2025) documents my doctoral journey toward the Dr. (Cand.) degree.

3rd Year — Completing the Dissertation

Journal Paper (RSCH9020) — My Second Journal Paper (IJSSE) with Promotor and Co-Promotor as Co-Authors

I submitted my second manuscript, the systematic literature review paper "Modification of Advanced Encryption Standard for Lightweight Applications: Recent Trends and Best Practices," to the International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering (IJSSE) in September 2024. This paper was rejected twice by two journals: IJSSE and CSA (Cyber Security and Applications) in early 2025. To date, this manuscript has not been resubmitted to another journal. The content has been an integral part of my dissertation, though.

I submitted my second manuscript for RSCH9020— the experimental paper, "Modification of Advanced Encryption Standard for Lightweight Applications: Recent Trends and Best Practices," to the International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering (IJSSE) in February 2025 and received an acceptance confirmation letter by email in April 2025 with good feedback from reviewers and associate editors. I was grateful for this. The paper (Andi Sama, Meyliana, Yaya Heryadi, Taufik Roni Sahroni, 2025) was published in June 2025 and indexed by Scopus in July 2025.

The second journal paper was a prerequisite to scheduling the closed exam to present the final research results, before the last stage: the open exam.

RSCH9020 was not expected to be completed until the 6th semester at the earliest. I was fortunate to finish it early in the 5th semester.

Five Scopus-indexed papers with a total of five citations (three conference papers, two journal papers) as of November 2025 to fulfill the requirement for a doctoral degree at Binus University.

Finishing Symposiums, Closed Exam, and Open Exam

Symposium-1 to 3 (also called Research Result Symposium-1/RRS-1 to RRS-3) are meant as checkpoints before the research result exam (the presentation of overall research results).

• RRS-1 validates Research Question 1 (RQ-1), which typically identifies the key factors contributing to our research, including methodology and a dataset based on the identified research gap.
• RRS-2 validates Research Question 2 (RQ-2), which typically refers to the proposed model or algorithm at the core of our research.
• RRS-3 validates Research Question 3 (RQ-3), which typically involves prototyping, demonstrating a prototype of the proposed model or algorithm.

I completed RRS-1, RRS-2, and RRS-3 in December 2024, April 2025, and July 2025, respectively. Then, completed the Research Result Exam in September 2025. At this stage, the dissertation is considered 100% done with recognized contribution (novelty). While it is not mandatory, it is beneficial to have the contribution also published in a peer-reviewed international journal as proof of the original contribution to science.

The subsequent formal processes are the dissertation symposium (similar to the Research Result Exam, public presence allowed), the closed exam, and the open exam.

A good resource for the dissertation defense (Grad Coach, 2021) mentioned the following nine typical questions that we should prepare:

1. What is your study about, and why did you choose to research this?
2. How did your research questions evolve during the research process?
3. How did you design your study, and why did you take this approach?
4. What were the main shortcomings and limitations created by your research design?
5. How did your findings relate to the existing literature?
6. What were your key findings in relation to the research questions?
7. Were there any findings that surprised you?
8. What biases may exist in your research?
9. How can your findings be put into practice?

Including the bonus question: if you could redo your research, how would you alter your approach?

The research result exam is the mechanism used to validate the contribution (novelty) by the promoter team (internal experts). The close exam is the mechanism used to validate the contribution by the external examiners (external experts). Being accepted (the papers) by journals is the mechanism by which the public, represented by the editor and reviewers of the journals, validates the contribution (to knowledge or industry).

In short, I completed the dissertation symposium and the final exam in October 2025. And finally, I passed the final stage, the open exam (final defense), in the 2nd week of December 2025, becoming the 125th doctor in the Doctor of Computer Science program at Binus University.

From this point onwards, I am officially entitled to use the highest possible formal degree in education, Dr. (equivalent to a Ph.D. in other countries), fulfilling one of my life’s short-listed dreams.

The excerpt of the letter of reference, signed by the rector after the final defense, stated that the student had met all the requirements for the doctoral degree program in computer science at Binus University.

While pursuing my doctoral degree in computer science, I submitted three manuscripts to three conferences, all of which were accepted without rejection. The submissions to the journal were a different story. Having prepared three manuscripts, I have submitted them to five journals, with four rejections (ICICEL-B, IJSSE, CSA, and IJACSA) and two acceptances (IJSSE).

The Graduation Ceremony and the Certificate

The next Binus University graduation ceremony is scheduled to take place in May 2026 in Jakarta. This will mark the end of the academic journey as graduates receive their graduation certificates, including those from the Doctor of Computer Science program, launched 11 years ago (2014).

To The Future

As Coldplay sang in "The Scientist" (Coldplay, 2002):

“I was just guessin’ at numbers and figures Pullin’ your puzzles apart Questions of science, science and progress Do not speak as loud as my heart And tell me you love me, come back and haunt me Oh, and I rush to the start Runnin’ in circles, chasin’ our tails Comin’ back as we are”

The official meaning of Coldplay's song, as communicated by Tina Benitez-Eves (2023), was about a man who was too busy with his work and neglected his lover. Does this sound like searching for novelty in pursuing a Ph.D.? I believe it is.

For now, more lyrics from the song:

“Nobody said it was easy It’s such a shame for us to part Nobody said it was easy No one ever said it would be this hard Oh, take me back to the start”

Life after a Ph.D.

What's next, then? Graduating with the highest degree in the education system is undoubtedly a significant milestone in one's academic life. One can either continue pursuing a postdoctoral position, conduct further research, contribute to industry as a practitioner, or do all of these in parallel.

One may pursue unfulfilled dreams as passion brings them to life.

References

• Andi Sama, Meyliana, Yaya Heryadi, Taufik Roni Sahroni, 2025, "Modified Lightweight Advanced Encryption Standard for Lightweight Embedded Applications," https://iieta.org/journals/ijsse/paper/10.18280/ijsse.150415
• Andi Sama et al., 2025, "Back to Campus — Navigating the Qualification Exam: A Doctoral Student's Journey," https://andisama.medium.com/back-to-campus-navigating-the-qualification-exam-a-doctoral-students-journey-ce496f0ab079.
• Andi Sama et al., 2024a, "Random Number Generator for Securing Data Exchange in Smart Factory: Recent Trends and Best Practices," https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10579926/authors#authors.
• Andi Sama et al., 2024b, "Implementation of Lightweight PRNG on PLC for Industrial Control Systems," https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10429019?denied=.
• Andi Sama et al., 2023, "Acquiring Automation and Control Data in The Manufacturing Industry: A Systematic Review," https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187705092301685X.
• Andi Sama, Cahyati S. Sangaji, 2023a, "Embarking on a Digital Transformation Journey to Industry 4.0 — Automation & Control," https://medium.com/@andisama/embarking-on-a-digital-transformation-journey-to-industry-4-0-automation-control-258105fd590d.
• Andi Sama, Cahyati S. Sangaji, 2023b, "The State of Data Towards Digital Transformation in the Manufacturing Industry," https://medium.com/@andisama/the-state-of-data-towards-digital-transformation-in-the-manufacturing-industry-5a8bdd47462a
• Andi Sama, 2022a, "Trust without Trust — Blockchain, The Fundamental Building Block of Metaverse & Industry 5.0," https://medium.com/@andisama/trust-without-trust-blockchain-the-fundamental-building-block-of-metaverse-industry-5-0-72501dd080f4.
• Andi Sama, 2022b, "Infusing Intelligence — AI, The Integral Building Block of the Metaverse," https://medium.com/@andisama/infusing-intelligence-ai-the-integral-building-block-of-the-metaverse-1a4a39f8c9c2.
• Andi Sama, 2022c, "Towards Industry 4.0 — #1 IT/OT Convergence, A Digital Transformation Journey for Automation & Control," https://medium.com/@andisama/towards-industry-4-0-1-it-ot-convergence-a-digital-transformation-journey-automation-control-bdb05143ec3f
• Andisama, 2023d, "Society 5.0," https://medium.com/@andisama/society-5-0-professors-talk-summary-by-prof-dr-peter-cochrane-obe-d-sc-ac605ede3b6f.
• Andi Sama, Cahyati S. Sangaji, 2021, "Embarking on a Journey to Quantum Computing — Without Physics Degree," https://medium.com/@andisama/embarking-on-a-journey-to-quantum-computing-without-physics-degree-4f22a1fb6a2b.
• Binus University, 2023a, "KESERUAN PROGRAM IMMERSION TO JAPAN DOCTOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE BINUS UNIVERSITY," https://dcs.binus.ac.id/2023/08/27/keseruan-program-immersion-to-japan-doctor-of-computer-science-binus-university/.
• Binus University, 2023b, "The 8th International Conference on Computer Science and Computational Intelligence, "https://socs.binus.ac.id/iccsci-2023.
• Coldplay, 2002, "The Scientist," https://genius.com/Coldplay-the-scientist-lyrics, retrieved on November 20, 2024.
• Grad Coach, 2021, *"Preparing For Your Dissertation Defense (Viva Voce): 9 Questions You MUST Be Ready For (+ Examples)," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JHBpj1H9LA.*
• ICIC International, 2024, "ICIC Express Letters, Part B: Applications," http://www.icicelb.org/.
• ICCT, 2024, "The 2024 3rd International Conference on Computer Technologies", http://www.icct.net/.
• Telkom University, 2023, "The 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Cybernetics Technology & Applications 2023 (ICICyTA)," https://icicyta.telkomuniversity.ac.id/2023/#.