Through a closed session of doctoral promotion led by Prof. Dr. Ir. Atiek Suprapti, MT., on February 6, 2024, the dissertation manuscript entitled “Unity of Community Community-based Settlement Space in the Settlement of Former Colonial Plantation Workers in Depok Lama, West Java” was successfully defended by Rakhmanita, a woman born in Ujung Pandang. The session was held offline and Rakhmanita was declared graduated as the 83rd doctor at the Doctoral Program in Architecture and Urban Sciences, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University (UNDIP). His dissertation manuscript has been tested by UNDIP’s internal examination team, Prof. Dr. Ir. Atiek Suprapti, MT, and Edward E. Pandelaki, ST, MT, Ph.D, as well as by an external examination team, Prof. Dr. Ir. Slamet Tri Sutomo, MS from Hasanuddin University (UNHAS) Makassar and Dr. Ir. Raziq Hasan, M. Ars from Gunadarma University (UG) Jakarta.
This research is the result of guidance by Prof. Dr. Ir. Edi Purwanto, MT., as promoter, Prof. Dr. Ir. R. Siti Rukayah, MT., as co-promoter 1, and Dr. Ir. Arief Rahman, MT., as co-promoter 2, who did not accompany until the end of the research process because he died of illness. The supervisors accompanied with patience and high dedication, both at the research location and in the studio at the UNDIP Architecture and Urban Sciences Doctoral Program. For 4 years 6 months 1 day, Rakhmanita successfully completed the lecture and research process in the urban architecture subcluster of housing and settlement related to urban settlements, with Depok City as the locus of research in West Java Province. The theme of his research is the unity of the living space of the Kaoem Depok community in Depok City, with a qualitative approach and inductive strategy. The results of his research show that the establishment of unity of living space with the context of urban settlements in Depok City is a spatial process that pivots on the level of persistence in staying, staying in obedience, testaments of brotherly love, gathering culture, and tradition in building which leads to the concept of unity of living space so that there are three layers of knowledge.
As a lecturer in the Department of Architecture at Gunadarma University, Rakhmanita was given the opportunity to continue her doctoral education at the UNDIP Architecture and Urban Science Doctoral Program. During his education, he was also active in national and international seminar activities and has published several scientific articles in national and international journals. One of them is an article entitled “Forms and Spaces of the Colonial Settlement of the Former Plantation Slaves: Depok Lama, Indonesia” indexed by Scopus Q2. In addition, he also actively participated in academic training to improve his research skills, such as training on plagiarism prevention using TURNITIN, and other training organized by the Library of the Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University.