By Hermawati Widyapratami, one of the Young Researchers with Wahana Riset Indonesia

My cell phone rang from a number that I thought was coming from an ojek driver because at that time, I had ordered food online through an ojek. I picked up the call, which actually came from World Resources Institute-Indonesia (WRI-Indonesia), where I interviewed at about a month ago. The phone call informed me that I was chosen as a Young Researcher for the Wahana Riset Indonesia program. Emotion and a little disbelief flooded my mind.

WRI Indonesia created a program for young researchers, where we will not only be help conduct research for WRI, but also given various trainings that will be useful for our self-development. Through essays and interviews, WRI Indonesia eventually selected 19 young researchers out of 500 applicants, to take part in the Wahana Riset Indonesia program.

My first meeting with 19 young research associates and some of the staff of WRI at the time of contract signing made me grateful and very excited. Both young researchers and long-time staff at WRI are people with different educational backgrounds and from diverse fields, coming from reputable universities in Indonesia and abroad. The work environment is dominated by millennials who have a vision to progress and contribute to Indonesia.

Our first day of work might be slightly different from the first day at another office. It started with the launch of the program opened by the Director of WRI Indonesia, Dr. Nirarta "Koni" Samadhi. In this event, WRI invited several NGOs, as well as several figures in the field of research, including Dr. Bambang Setiadi who is Chairman of the National Research Council, Dr. Yanuar Nugroho from the Executive Office of President, and Mr. Asmoro Hadiyanto from the Indonesian Science Fund (DIPI). They were also speakers at the launch.

<p>Dr. Yanuar Nugroho, Deputy II Staff Chief of Executive Office of President, delivering the material at the launching of Wahana Riset Indonesia. Photo by Reidinar Juliane/WRI</p>

Dr. Yanuar Nugroho, Deputy II Staff Chief of Executive Office of President, delivering the material at the launching of Wahana Riset Indonesia. Photo by Reidinar Juliane/WRI

During our first few weeks at WRI Indonesia, the 19 of us young researchers were then given various trainings, such as trainings on good research process, how to design and plan research, research ethics and writing trainings delivered by senior journalists from leading news outlets in Indonesia. We also had training on social network mapping given directly by Kathleen Buckingham, a research associate from WRI Global in Washington DC.

The thing I remember the most was a quote from Dr. Bambang Setiadi. He said "Researcher is not a job, but a character" and I think the message is that as a researcher we may be wrong but we should not be dishonest. I think this is important not only as a researcher, but also for other aspects of life. Human could be wrong, but we must dare to tell the truth when something is right or wrong.

We are directly placed in various research fields in WRI Indonesia. I was assigned to stream 2 whose main activity is Indonesia’s One Map Initiative. The influx information given to us could make my friends and I confused and overwhelmed. We must be able to quickly absorb all the material provided and we are also expected to quickly adapt to the rhythm of work here. Plus, we have to decide on our research topic. But I think, when God puts us in a position, God wants us to learn and become a better person.

I am very grateful to be granted this opportunity, to work in a fun environment with individuals who understand each other's responsibilities and strive to always do the best. I see that indeed when we work with passion, it will produce better outputs. This opportunity is probably one of the steps I have to climb to achieve my career aspirations. The experience of working at WRI is expected to teach me not just how to be a good researcher, but will also give me to grow, give me extraordinary friends, expand networking, and most importantly, I’ll be able to contribute my knowledge to Indonesia.