A researcher from Indonesia’s Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) has just completed a PhD with Griffith University with her thesis entitled, ‘Understanding Child Sexual Abuse in Indonesia: A Critical Analysis’.
Armed with a wealth of knowledge, Yanuar Wismayanti (Yantie) now looks forward to returning to Indonesia to work with MoSA and other colleagues. Radiating enthusiasm, she noted, ‘I have lots of plans and dreams on how we can develop programs and work together to publish our research in international journals’.
Having started with Griffith English Language Institute in 2015, Yantie studied in The Direct Entry Program (DEP) for six months. It was a challenging time at first, but she soon made friends with students from around the world, all second language learners, she says. Yantie felt that it was an important experience to meet these new friends and to volunteer her time with community organisations while she was in Australia.
Yantie started her degree in 2016. She said that one of the best things about studying with Griffith, apart from the friendly assistance she received from The Griffith School of Human Services and Social Work and supervisors, had been the number of support services provided by Griffith, including the Griffith University Postgraduate Student Association, which, among other things, provided free help with editing. Yantie said it was important to take part in the many workshops and seminars delivered by the Griffith Library and Research Education and Development (RED).
She said her Supervisors, Professor Patrick O’Leary, Professor Clare Tilbury and Dr Yenny Tjoe as Associate Supervisor, were always available to provide valuable advice when needed.
Professor O’Leary remarked that Yantie completing her PhD was a tremendous achievement. Dr TJoe commented, ‘The reason that Yantie does so well is because of her positive attitude and her willingness to engage with communities.’
Yantie said that apart from her eagerness to start working back in Indonesia on important projects, such as MoSA’s Model Village initiative ‘How to empower a village’, she was looking forward to sharing some nasi padang with rendang with her family.
