How I learned to measure: My doctoral journey at UIII

How I learned to measure: My doctoral journey at UIII

Muhammad Affan Ramadhana

I think most people begin their doctoral journey with a clear research agenda and strong methodological background. I was not one of them. When I began my doctoral study at the Faculty of Education UIII, I was not a-hundred-percent sure of my research plan. Before I begin my PhD journey, I had spent several years as a lecturer in a small city in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, after completing my master’s degree in 2014. Like many young academics in Indonesia, I had teaching responsibilities, as well as many administrative duties, but I also gradually developed aspiration to pursue doctoral level study. For that purpose, I explored different research interests, from educational policy to linguistics and genre studies, yet none of them truly felt like the area where I wanted to spend the next years of my life.

During that period, opportunities appeared and disappeared quickly. Scholarship regulations, particularly intended for young Indonesian university lecturers, changed almost every year. Most frustratingly, timing of government scholarship and university admission schedules did not match most of the time. From those situations, I learned one important lesson. When opportunity arrives, it must be taken. Waiting for the perfect moment often means missing the opportunity altogether.

That principle led me to submit my application to UIII after unexpectedly seeing its admission announcement on Instagram post. At that time, I had already been preparing for PhD applications for another university. In fact, I initially intended to continue my study in linguistics rather than education. Nevertheless, after learning about its vision, I strongly felt that the opportunity offered by UIII was too valuable to ignore. I prepared a research proposal in education despite having no planning in the area. I rewrote my application documents, asked my respected mentors to provide another recommendation, and submitted everything with prayers.

When I receive the acceptance letter in August 2022, I had no idea that I was about to enter an institution that would fundamentally reshape how I viewed research, learning, and even myself as an academic.

New experience in a new community

In 2022, UIII welcomed its first cohort of doctoral students. Even though it already has master’s students since 2021, but the university itself was still new. The doctoral program was new, the buildings, the classrooms, and the students’ dormitories were all new. Even the academic community and its traditions were all newly established alongside us, which meant there was no precedent to follow. There was no senior cohort to describe what to expect, no shared record of how earlier students had organized their coursework or their dissertations. Rather than entering an institution with decades of established culture, we became part of generation that helped define it.

This shared beginning created an atmosphere unlike any learning environment I had previously experienced. Students and faculty members were building something together. We were taking part in the growth of a new academic community.

The classroom experiences were challenging. Indeed, as an international university, the language of instruction is English. But that was not my concern since my background is in English language education. Instead, the challenge was intellectual demands. Weekly reading reflections, critical discussions, and demanding assignments required us to think beyond summarizing literature. Every course expected independent reasoning supported by evidence and strong argumentation.

Among all the courses, Educational Assessment by Dr. Bambang Sumintono became the turning point. This course introduced Rasch measurement theory, which was completely unfamiliar to me. During one presentation, I was assigned the topic of multi rater assessment. At first, I treated it as another classroom assignment. However, the more I read about it, the more fascinated I became. I discovered that assessment was far more than assigning scores. It involved understanding human judgment, fairness, consistency, and measurement through sophisticated analytical models.

At that moment, I still had no intention of making this my dissertation topic. I simply enjoy learning something new. Another major turning point arrived in the Quantitative Analysis and Advanced Statistics course by Dr. Destina. Before pursuing PhD at UIII, my experience with quantitative research was almost nonexistent. Previously, my master’s degree thesis employed qualitative research with in-depth interviews. Statistical concepts such as regression, structural equation modeling, and hierarchical linear modeling were completely outside my mind.

I believe I did not merely begin from zero. Arguably, I began from ‘minus’ because I lacked knowledge and conceptual foundation that some of my classmates already mastered. However, I consider the biggest transformation during my PhD journey was not learning statistics and quantitative research.

In search for dissertation ideas

While searching for a dissertation topic, I found a comprehensive 800-pages book on research questions in language education. Among its many chapters, I found one focuses on rater behavior in language assessment. It contains several research questions that can be explored to study the area. I pitched this idea to Dr. Bambang, and after several consultations, I realized that this field contained meaningful research opportunities that had not yet been sufficiently explored in Indonesian contexts.

Choosing the topic, however, was only the beginning. During the Independent Study course, we were required to produce an extensive literature review of approximately 25,000 words. To prove my strong interest in the research area, I immersed myself in hundreds of research papers on rater behavior and Rasch measurement. However, the articles I found were extraordinarily complex for me to understand. I often found myself reading each sentence several times without what the researchers were actually doing. Their research designs, statistical analyses, and interpretations felt completely beyond my ability to comprehend. Those months were among the most difficult periods of my academic experiences.

There was once a time when I questioned myself whether I had chosen the wrong area of research. However, instead of giving up, I decided to apply learning by doing. Using the knowledge I gain from my first semester experience, I began experimenting with Facets, a software to do Rasch analysis for multi rater assessment data. Running the software was manageable, because there are tutorials plus data training that can be followed, plus I had some working knowledge of editing simple computer command lines. Interpreting the output, however, was an entirely different challenge. Numbers appeared on the screen, but I did not yet understand the meaning they represented.

Realizing this weakness of interpreting any statistical analysis outputs, I sought after every learning opportunity available. I enrolled in several quantitative analysis modules offered at the Faculty of Social Sciences UIII’s summer training program, even though many modules were beyond my current level. I attended courses on categorical data analysis, causal inference, survey and sampling, and multilevel analysis. Much of the course content remained difficult for me to comprehend, yet each session expanded my understanding of how quantitative researchers think. Outside formal courses, YouTube has become my other learning source. I spent countless hours watching introductory lectures on regression, statistics, and including Rasch measurement. Many of the videos helped me build the foundation I had never previously received.

Slowly, ideas that once seemed impossible became more understandable. Months later, when I revisited the same journal articles that had once overwhelmed me, it becomes more understandable, although still relatively complex for me to comprehend.

Walking the path one step at a time

One lesson confirmed throughout my PhD journey was that meaningful progress did not come from dramatic breakthroughs. Instead, it emerges from consistent small, repeated efforts. The learning environment at UIII played an important role in sustaining that effort. The doctoral student room and workspace became my second home. Comfortable rooms, ergonomic chairs, beautiful views, and the peaceful atmosphere allowed me to spend entire days reading, analyzing data, writing, and including taking some naps. Whenever I became bored, I could always move to Jusuf Kalla Library, whose excellent facilities provided another inspiring place to continue working. Those spaces helped maintain motivation and productivity.

As my dissertation developed, I benefited tremendously from the guidance of my supervisors, Dr. Bambang Sumintono and Dr. Zulfa Sakhiyya from UNNES. Their encouragement extended beyond technical feedback. They challenged my assumptions, strengthened my research design, and introduced the sequential explanatory approach that became the method I used in my dissertation.

Outside the university, participation in a real conference further expanded my academic horizon. In 2024, I presented my preliminary study at the Pacific Rim Objective Measurement Symposium (PROMS) in Kuala Lumpur. PROMS is the community of researchers and practitioners that actively develop and promote Rasch measurement theory in many fields. There, I met many big names in Rasch measurement whose name I only read in their books, journal articles, and book chapters. I met big names such as George Engelhard, Trevor Bond, Yan Zi, and many others. There, I discovered an academic community whose members generously shared ideas and constructive feedback. One suggestion regarding my study was the importance of rater training before doing rater-mediated assessments.

The following year, in 2025, was another unforgettable experience for me. I intended to present my research findings in PROMS again, this time held in Singapore. What was different this time was the opportunity to receive grant award for PhD students in Southeast Asia to present their research in PROMS 2025. I applied for that grant and submitted my extended abstract alongside my supervisor’s recommendation letter. All praises to Allah, I received the Distinguished Student Scholarship to attend PROMS 2025 in Singapore. I have another opportunity to stand among internationally recognized scholars. This time I met David Andrich, Jue Wang, Quan Zhang, and many others including Vahid Aryadoust. Whether ready or not, even from the periphery, I was becoming part of the scholarly conversation itself.

The dissertation writing process, however, remained emotionally demanding. Although I can manage to overcome practical and technical problems during data collection process, the writing process was a different game. There were weeks when I could not write a single word, even when I faced my laptop intensely. Despite having completed the analyses, I felt mentally exhausted. Surprisingly, those periods of apparent inactivity were not unproductive. During those moments, I was wondering about how to reorganize the structure of my dissertation. I realized that a dissertation needs a coherent narrative that guides readers through the entire research journey. Once that organizational structure became clear, plus the deadline came closer, writing progressed much more smoothly. This experience taught me that intellectual work often still continues even when still no words appear on the page.

Beyond the viva exam

As the dissertation examination approached, I found myself reflecting less on finishing the dissertation and more on what would come afterward. For almost four years, I have enjoyed the privilege of being a full-time student. My daily responsibility was learning. I could spend entire days reading, thinking, discussing ideas, and improving my research understanding. Returning to professional life meant returning to administrative responsibilities, institutional obligations, and the realities of academic work beyond PhD level study. I worried that I would lose the precious environment that had allowed me to grow. Eventually, I realized that the purpose of doctoral level education is not to remain a student within the university forever. Its purpose is to prepare us to bring what we have learned back into society.

Finally, perhaps the most emotional moment of my journey came at my dissertation defense. When I learned that Prof. George Engelhard, one of the leading scholars in Rasch measurement theory, would serve as one of my examiners, I felt overwhelming anxiety. Alongside Dr. Bahrul Hayat, both examiners were students of Ben Wright, the person who advocates the Rasch measurement theory in the US and to the world. In other words, two of my examiners had direct intellectual connections to the early development of Rasch measurement theory. It was a big burden for me. The thought of defending my work before a giant scholar whose publications had shaped my entire dissertation was intimidating.

When the examination began, the fear gradually disappeared. I realized that over the previous years, I had genuinely learned the field. I could explain my methodology, justify my decisions, interpret my analyses, and respond confidently to challenging questions. It all paid off. I was declared pass with distinction.

Receiving the distinction for my dissertation defense was not my greatest achievement. The greatest achievement was recognizing how far I had traveled through this PhD journey. I entered UIII without knowing anything about Rasch measurement. Yet, I ended with conducting original research using many facet Rasch measurement model and defended it before internationally respected scholars in the field. This transformation still amazes me.

Looking back, every stage of this journey appears connected by countless moments of grace. From discovering the admission announcement by chance, to receiving support from mentors, to finding supervisors who believed in my potential, to learning from remarkable lecturers and fellow students. Every experience contributed to who I have become today. More importantly, this journey has given me a renewed understanding of education itself. Education is not simply the transfer of knowledge and values. It also includes the gradual transformation of how people see themselves and what they believe they are capable of achieving.

Above all, I remain grateful to Allah for every opportunity, every challenge, every mentor, every friendship, and every lesson that shaped this extraordinary journey. My years at UIII have taught me that remarkable destinations are often reached by people who simply continue taking the next step, even when they cannot yet see the entire path ahead.

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by Bambang Sumintono

I Once Admired the Facilitators — Now I Am One

I Once Admired the Facilitators — Now I Am One

By Uswatun Hasanah

Some people inspire you without knowing it. I still remember sitting in a room in 2017 as a participant in Camp SOAR 1, a program by RELO (Regional English Language Office of the U.S. Embassy) for 20 selected English teachers across Indonesia — watching the facilitators, and thinking “ how did they get there?” And from that moment, I knew I wanted to be one of them. In May 2026, I was no longer the one watching. I was the one standing in front of the room, hoping to be someone’s reason to dream.

That room was the ACCESS English Camp 2026 — a part of the ACCESS Program, a two-year English learning program organized by RELO (Regional English Language Office of the U.S. Embassy) and IIEF in collaboration with selected host institutions across several cities in Indonesia, including Jakarta, Ambon, Balikpapan, Malang, Padang, and Surabaya. Students are selected from different schools and study English twice a week at their respective host institutions. In Jakarta, that host institution is UKRIDA (Universitas Kristen Krida Wacana), guided by ACCESS teachers selected by RELO and IIEF.

The camp was held from 22–24 May 2026 at Highland Park Bogor, as one of the final programs before students graduate from ACCESS. Over three days, students joined activities designed not only to strengthen their English skills, but also to develop critical thinking, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and global awareness. The camp also introduced students to American values and culture as preparation for future opportunities, including studying in the United States.

When I saw the ACCESS Camp facilitator opening, it felt personal immediately. The program was organized by RELO and IIEF — two institutions that had already been part of my story long before this moment. In 2011, I received a U.S. government scholarship under the Indonesian English Language Study Program (IELSP), managed by IIEF, which brought me to Virginia Tech in the United States. Later, I was also a Fulbright FLTA awardee at Ohio University. These experiences made me familiar with the values that U.S. government programs consistently carry — leadership, collaboration, critical thinking, and cultural exchange. So when I saw the facilitator opening, it did not feel like a new opportunity. It felt like coming back to something I already knew and loved.

That was also why I felt confident applying even though I did not fully meet the residency requirement. I am from Serang, Banten , not Jakarta. But I believed I understood the spirit of this program deeply enough to contribute. So I applied anyway.

I still clearly remember the interview. At the end, the interviewers did not ask for a closing statement. But I asked if I could give one anyway. Looking back, it was probably the best decision I made that day.

I told them about Camp SOAR 1, about Virginia Tech, about my Fulbright at Ohio University. I told them I was a public speaker who had stood on local, national, and international stages. And then I said something I genuinely believed: that based on everything I had experienced, I was the best fit for this role.

I was not trying to show off. I just wanted them to understand how much this meant to me, and how ready I was. Sometimes the interview questions alone cannot carry all of that. So, you ask for one more minute, and you say it yourself.

As the facilitator, I was responsible for designing the overall activities. Such as the key sessions, ice breakers, and outdoor games. But honestly, the role taught me something I did not fully expect. Facilitation is not just about having a plan. It is about reading the room, noticing when the energy drops, knowing when to push and when to just let the students talk. There were moments during the camp where the best thing I could do was step back and watch them figure things out themselves. Those were actually my favourite moments.

One of the most memorable parts of the camp was a moment I did not see coming. During the root cause analysis and project pitching activities, students were asked to identify social problems around them. I expected the usual topics — bullying, environmental issues, and sure enough, those came up, including a very passionate discussion about the trash situation in Bantar Gebang. But then several students raised something that made me stop and think. They identified the irresponsible use of artificial intelligence as one of the biggest social problems among young people today.

I was not expecting that. These are teenagers. And they were already thinking critically about AI, not just as a cool technology but as something that could cause real harm if used without responsibility. It was a small moment in the middle of a busy camp, but it stayed with me. It reminded me that sometimes, as educators, we walk into a room thinking we are there to teach. And then the students quietly teach us something instead.

Looking back, becoming an ACCESS English Camp facilitator felt like completing a long circle in my educational journey. Years ago, I sat in a room admiring facilitators who created meaningful experiences for others. In May 2026, I had the chance to be that person for someone else. This experience reminded me that dreams sometimes take years to come true — but they are never meaningless. They quietly shape the choices we make, the skills we build, and the person we become. Until one day, we find ourselves standing in the place we once only imagined from afar.

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by Muhammad Sufyan

Many rejections are better than no submission: lessons learned from publishing in International Journal

Many rejections are better than no submission: lessons learned from publishing in International Journal

By Hasnan Yasin

Many academics find it not easy to publish their papers in a reputable journal, including in internationally indexed journals. Some even consider publishing mostly in local-indexed journals since they think that it is easier to get accepted to some extent. This may be because of the dynamic behind publishing articles in a reputable journal. I had tried submitting my manuscripts to reputable journals many times before it was accepted by one. What I learned is that publishing is not just about writing quality papers, but also about finding a suitable journal to disseminate it. This brief writing is my reflection I noted from publishing in a reputable journal.

 

To begin with, I start with the writing quality. The writing must be of international standard. Even though specific guidelines are usually provided by each journal, common acceptable academic writing standards must be upheld. For example, the common structure used is IMRaD (short for Introduction, Method, Result, and Discussion), some journals also preferred it with literature review subject to the journal’s guideline; the stylistic convention and formatting needs to follow certain style such as APA (most common style I found), MLA, or other styles; ethical standards should be strictly considered and explicitly stated, especially for research involving human participations; the significance of the study must be presented; and the limitation of the study needs to be stated. This is just the starting point. The next one is related to selecting suitable journals to publish.

 

Beyond the writing itself, browsing and filtering journals can be very substantial and useful. I learned that choosing a journal is not just about looking at the name of the journal. It is beyond that. Paying attention to some points of a journal such as the scope, metrics, index, and even editors can be enlightening. The scope of the manuscript prepared must be in line with the journal scope. This can be seen from the stated aims and scopes and also from the published articles from previous volumes. Metrics is also important, especially if you are concerned much about the average time of the editorial process and the citation metrics. Indexing is another important point to notice in order to make sure that the journal is discoverable and credible. Lastly, getting to know the journal editors can be useful since they are in charge of overseeing the publication process. After carefully considering and finding a match to these points, submission is good to go.

Do not worry about the speed. Expect different length of editorial processes from different journals. Some journal editors have longer time to process your articles; others have shorter time. My first publication took me only three months from submission to its online publication. My second and the rest took a lot longer than that and are still in editorial process until this reflection is published. The average time of waiting is usually presented in the journal metrics. The metric usually portrays the fact based on previous year data. If the process takes a lot longer than what it says in the metrics, try emailing the editors or the editor assistance for clarification.

 

However, sometimes one try is not enough. That is why being tenacious is good in publishing an article. You have to expect that your first submission will not be great and rejection can be something you can find along the way. This does not necessarily mean that your article is not good enough, but it has not just found its place yet. I do not encourage you to submit one manuscript to many journals, instead, I encourage you to submit it again after one rejection. You also have to be reflective about what could possibly be improved after the rejection. Some editors sometimes include notes you can consider before submitting it again.

 

Be aware that the comments from reviewers and editors are not always nice but open spaces for learning and improvement. You can always take the comments from the reviewer and the editors as a learning opportunity for you. In my case, for example, since I wrote about financial literacy from large-scale educational assessment data, and my background is not economic, I learned some frameworks I used as lenses of my study. I learn about financial socialization and behavioral economics. Theories I have not heard before. This was initiated by the comments I received from the reviewers and editors. These comments are mostly constructive. The more comments you get the more opportunities you get for learning.

 

Finally, from publishing in international journals, I have learned that writing quality, journal selection, speed and timelines, tenacity and rejection, reviewer comments and growth are important points to consider in publishing and article. My final two cents is many rejections are better than no submissions. It may take time, but it is worth waiting.

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by Bambang Sumintono