"My name is Markus Santoso and I come from Indonesia."
On August 16th, 2013, I received my Ph.D. in Visual Contents from DSU. Indeed, I have a long history at DSU. I first visited the main campus in early 2000 as an undergraduate exchange student from Petra Christian University in Surabaya, Indonesia.
Markus Santoso, Ph.D.
Although I initially stayed for only a few months, I was deeply impressed with DSU, and this lasting impression led to my decision to take graduate courses at Dongseo University as well. I studied for my Master's degree in Multimedia Design at DSU from 2004 to 2006.
In 2010, I had an opportunity to return to DSU as a visiting professor from Ciputra University, also located in my hometown of Surabaya, Indonesia. When I arrived, I was amazed by the rapid development DSU had undergone since I had been a Master's student. At that time, there were not very many international students at most of us were staying in the international dormitory located in front of Green Hall. We lived on the sixth and seventh floors, and the rest of the building was used by student clubs. Now, there are nearly 700 international students studying at DSU! There are also many new buildings on the DSU campus: buildings such as the Minseok Library, the Student Plaza and the Global Village, all of which were constructed using funds awarded through government support.
In February 2011, I chose to enter a doctoral program at DSU, and so once again I became a student of this great university. With the help of Prof. Byung Gook Lee, I was able to join the Institute of Ambient Intelligence (IAI). Since Prof. Lee and I could communicate fluently in English, we did not suffer from any language barriers. Moreover, the IAI Laboratory is filled with state-of-the-art research equipment, which enabled us to concentrate on our studies of visual contents. The excellent facilities available at DSU allowed the IAI members to thoroughly enjoy and engage in their studies.
The DSU slogan "My Bright Future" means a lot to me.
In my 2nd semester of doctoral studies, I decided to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship to further enhance my research abilities. And on June 13th, 2013, something surprising happened! I received an e-mail informing me that I had been selected for the ERCIM Alain Bensoussan Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and that I had been assigned to the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institute in Germany.
It has long been my biggest dream to have the opportunity of conducting research activities in Fraunhofer, a leading research center in the field of computer science. With an annual research budget of 200 million Euros and about 4500 researchers, Fraunhofer is among the best research centers of its kind in Germany. Since September, I have been working on research with 300 other doctors from all over the world, research that was made possible through my scholarship from ERCIM. Every day is like a dream come true. Without DSU, it never would have been possible for me achieve my dream. At DSU's IAI Laboratory, I laid the foundation for achieving my goal of receiving a postdoctoral fellowship at Fraunhofer. I am living my bright future now!
I believe DSU's President, Dr. Jekuk Chang, has an incredible capacity to develop DSU and to help it reach its full potential. Under President Chang's leadership, DSU has undergone a transformation and taken on a new UI that is more dynamic and appealing. DSU has also recently received many great accolades, causing it to gain recognition on the world stage. Dongseo University is no longer just a Korean university, it is a global university located in Korea.
Choosing to enrol at DSU was the best decision of my life.
I am deeply appreciative to President Jekuk Chang, Vice President Jeoung Seong Cho, Professor Byung Gook Lee, as well as to the many other DSU professors who offered their time and help and to the members of the Center for International Exchange and Cooperation. There are far too many people for me to name who have shown me kindness and expressed concern for me and my family during my time here at DSU.
It is hard for me to leave the DSU family and Korea, which has been my second home over the past two and a half years. I will take many great memories with me. These will include enrolling as a Ph.D. student, graduating from my program, and of course becoming a father during my stay. Although it is sad to say goodbye, I am looking forward to the challenges ahead. If I am lucky, I will one day be able to return to DSU again. My future is bright, and I sincerely hope yours is too! Thank you DSU!
