Suci Senjana, a woman born on April 7, 1990, officially earned her doctoral degree at the Doctoral Program in Architecture and Urbanism, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University. On Thursday, August 28, 2025, she successfully defended her dissertation entitled A Study on The Resilience of Urban Form Components to Tsunamis in Banda Aceh, Indonesia in a closed doctoral examination with the distinction of Cum Laude (GPA 3.96). Her graduation marked her as the 101st doctoral graduate of the program. The defense was chaired by Prof. Dr. Ir. Atik Suprapti, M.TA., as Head of the Study Program (co-promoter), with the support of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wiwandari Handayani, S.T., M.T., MPS (promoter).
The dissertation examination involved internal examiners from Diponegoro University, namely Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ir. Gagoek Hardiman, Prof. Dr. Ir. Edi Purwanto, M.T., and Edward Endrianto Pandelaki, S.T., M.T., Ph.D. Meanwhile, the external examiner was Prof. Dr. Tomohiko Yoshida from Ritsumeikan University, Japan. With such academic support, SuciSenjana’s dissertation was declared eligible and successfully defended.
During her three years of study, Suci Senjana focused on the field of disaster resilience in urban landscapes by taking Banda Aceh as her research site. Her dissertation examined how urban form components (including urban blocks, accessibility, and natural areas) evolve within the context of tsunami-prone cities. The study found that Banda Aceh, which was once centered on the old city, has now developed into a polycentric city with a new center emerging in the southern area. Both areas are strategic zones that can be prioritized in urban planning and design to enhance tsunami resilience.
By applying a quantitative research paradigm and a longitudinal research design, Suci Senjana combined various methods: spatio-temporal analysis, classification analysis, community surveys, expert weighting through AHP, field observations, strategic area analysis, and developing resilience scenarios. The results of the study produced a conceptual model of urban form component resilience that emphasizes the importance of physical aspects as well as community perception support in building long-term resilience. This model not only recommends strengthening technical aspects but also highlights community awareness, economic stability, and policy and regulatory support as driving factors towards transformative adaptation.
Throughout her doctoral study, Suci actively contributed to academic publications. Her works include an international conference paper indexed by Scopus (IOP Proceedings) entitled Spatio-temporal analysis on land use/land cover change in Banda Aceh: a preliminary study of disaster resilience. In addition, she also published two articles in reputable Scopus Q1 journals: in Spatium entitled A review of resilience in urban form for natural disaster-prone areas, and in the Journal of Islamic Architecture entitled Resilience in Islamic urban form: Exploring dynamics in historic central district of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Currently, Suci serves as a lecturer at the Architecture Program, Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang. She pursued her doctoral degree with the support of an LPDP scholarship. Her academic achievement stands as evidence of both scientific contribution and dedication to advancing the discipline of architecture and urbanism, particularly on the issue of tsunami disaster resilience, which is relevant not only to Banda Aceh but also to other tsunami-prone coastal cities in Indonesia and subduction zones worldwide.