The PELITA Project (Understanding the Education and Labor Market Consequences of Indonesia’s Quest to Become the World’s Leading Nurse Exporting Nation) held its regular online meeting on 14 April 2026 via Zoom. The meeting brought together a cross-institutional research team comprising representatives from LMU Munich (Germany), Universitas Hasanuddin, the Australian National University (ANU), Universitas Airlangga, and field research team members, with financial support from the Volkswagen Foundation. This activity involved 11 participants, consisting of the Pelita Leader, Prof. Dr. Julia Lohmann; Principal Investigators, Prof. Rini Rachmawaty, Prof. Ferry Efendi, and Prof. Firman Witoelar; Research Assistants, Andi Dian Miranda Yusran. P, Eliana ChavarrĂa Pino, Tri Yatmi, and Nursindia A. Sugoro; and Research Administrators, Muh. Fadhil Ichsan Jaya, Anisa Salsabila and Trianaka Ficta Rochmah Annisya
The main agenda of the meeting covered updates on the REDCap data management system, the use of the Jira project management platform, budget and payment updates, plans for conceptual framework validation at an international conference in Romania, research ethics considerations, and study protocol updates.
One of the key achievements reported in this meeting was the successful installation of the REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) research data management system on the Universitas Hasanuddin server. Prof. Rini Rachmawaty, head of the Unhas research team, confirmed that Unhas is the first institution to use REDCap at this scale for an international project, with two co-administrators designated for the project. Prof. Julia Franziska Lohmann of LMU Munich expressed appreciation for the team’s remarkable progress.
During the demonstration session, Prof. Rini introduced the team to REDCap’s key features, including survey instrument and questionnaire design, digital informed consent integration within the survey workflow, data export and automated report generation, a codebook feature for documentation, and time and project management functionalities. The team acknowledged that while REDCap may appear complex initially, it is highly comprehensive and free to use. Research instruments (questionnaires) must be finalised before they can be fully uploaded and configured in REDCap.
Regarding the budget, Prof. Julia confirmed that the second tranche (Q2) payment from the Volkswagen Foundation is expected to arrive within the next few days to weeks, transferred from the same account as the first tranche with the reference updated from Q1 to Q2. Prof. Rini noted that new payment approval documentation is required by the Unhas financial department for each disbursement. Prof. Julia also offered institutional support in the form of an official letter from the Volkswagen Foundation should it be needed to resolve an ongoing additional fee dispute.
The next strategic agenda discussed was the preparation for validation of the PELITA conceptual framework at an international nursing conference to be held in Romania. Prof. Julia will attend the forum, which is expected to draw approximately 50–60 European nursing education researchers and WHO-affiliated professionals. The framework to be presented was developed from the WOPH Framework, adapted to the Indonesian context using a dual approach: top-down from national and international education frameworks, and bottom-up from a comprehensive literature review conducted by Eliana ChavarrĂa on nursing student characteristics, determinants of academic performance, and learning motivation.
As a validation instrument, Eliana ChavarrĂa is developing an interactive exercise using the Mentimeter platform, to be accessed via QR code displayed in the presentation slides. The same QR code will also be placed on the PELITA website and printed on flyers as a backup. Attending experts will be asked to identify additional dimensions not yet captured in the framework and to rank those they consider most important. Following the Romania conference, the same Mentimeter exercise will be adapted and used with the PELITA Advisory Panel during their next online meeting, ensuring that input from Indonesian stakeholders is also incorporated into the framework validation process.
Research ethics considerations were also a key item on the agenda. Prof. Julia argued that the Romania validation activity does not require formal ethics approval, as it involves anonymous expert consultation on subject matter rather than the collection of personal data from research subjects. Prof. Rini, on the other hand, highlighted that institutional norms at Unhas require documented ethical procedures for any activity involving participants, even in a professional capacity. The team agreed that the activity will be described as “eliciting expert feedback on the conceptual framework” rather than formal “data collection.” Prof. Rini will explore whether this activity can be added as an addendum to the current ethics submission, with a final decision to be communicated to Prof. Julia before the Romania conference takes place.
In the study protocol update session, the team discussed several outstanding issues, including the mechanism for linking qualitative and quantitative data and a data protection plan addressing data storage location, access rights within the consortium, and data governance across partner institutions. Eliana will prepare a structured document outlining these pending issues, while the team also discussed the document storage platform to be used, whether a Dropbox-style system on the LMU server or Google Drive, with a final decision to be confirmed by Prof. Julia.
The overall agenda of the PELITA meeting on 14 April 2026 reflects the project’s firm commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on Quality Education. Through the strengthening of technology-based data management systems, international expert collaboration for framework validation, and the development of ethical and standardised research protocols, the PELITA Study explicitly contributes to SDG Target 4.4 increasing the number of people with relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for decent work as well as SDG Target 4.b, which promotes international partnerships to strengthen education capacity in developing countries, including Indonesia. The next meeting was agreed to be postponed to 29 or 30 April 2026, with the exact date to be confirmed via email. Updates and urgent questions may be communicated by email, with Prof. Julia responsible for disseminating relevant information to all team members.
