Makassar, 14 May 2026
The PELITA Project (Understanding the Education and Labor Market Consequences of Indonesia’s Quest to Become the World’s Leading Nurse Exporting Nation) held an online coordination meeting on 14 May 2026, attended by the full research team from LMU Munich, Universitas Hasanuddin, Universitas Airlangga, and the Australian National University. The meeting covered four main topics: reflection on the Advisory Panel Meeting held on 11 May 2026, the stakeholder communication strategy, travel and accommodation logistics for Surabaya, and the timeline and task distribution for the LMU Munich ethics submission.
Reflecting on the Advisory Panel Meeting, the team expressed appreciation for the high level of attendance and constructive engagement from senior officials with very demanding schedules. The Chairperson of the Indonesian National Nurses Association (PPNI) notably raised the importance of the credentialing and incubation process as relevant domains for the study framework an input assessed as closely aligned with the project’s conceptual dimensions. However, the team identified a key communication gap: most participants had not yet fully grasped the distinction between nurses’ readiness for the domestic labour market and international migration, nor the scope of deliverables the project will and will not produce. The team concluded that the main challenge lies not in substance, but in communication strategy.
In response, the team discussed several options for strengthening stakeholder communication, including re-circulating the project report with concise responses to participants’ comments, one-on-one outreach with key stakeholders, social media dissemination, and the development of an AI-generated animated video to make the conceptual framework more accessible. The team noted that the opening narrative “Will we still educate nurses for the Indonesian market in the future, or rather for German hospitals?” has consistently proven effective in helping audiences grasp the project’s core concept, and will continue to be used as the primary conceptual entry point in all subsequent communications. A dedicated in-depth discussion on the communication strategy was scheduled as a key agenda item for the June 2026 in-person meeting.
On travel logistics, the team discussed the administrative requirements for LMU Munich’s travel reimbursement process, which include original hotel invoices, credit card statements as proof of payment, and evidence of direct bank transfer to the hotel. To accommodate these requirements, hotels in Surabaya will be requested to accept a 50% down payment with the balance settled once documentation is in place. Proximity to the activity venue and practicality were prioritised over hotel class, with accommodation booking to be coordinated by the local Surabaya team.
The ethics submission timeline was discussed with a sense of urgency. The team set a target of submitting to the LMU Ethics Committee by the end of the following week, acknowledging the ambition of this timeline given concurrent teaching commitments. The urgency stems from three factors: project funds for protocol development and publication costs are available only until the end of November 2026; an ethics protocol number is required before any paper can be submitted for publication; and postponing submission until June 2026 would forfeit approximately three weeks of effective working time. The team agreed to use the German LMU template for the initial submission, with adaptation for the Indonesian context to follow at a subsequent stage. Finalisation of tools, translation into Bahasa Indonesia, and final revisions are scheduled for the June 2026 in-person meeting.
To support the ethics submission, outstanding protocol tasks were distributed among team members. Prof. Firman Witoelar and Dr. Eliana Chavarría Pino are responsible for sample size calculations and identification of the primary outcome. Prof. Ferry Efendi, Prof. Rini Rachmawaty, and Prof. Firman will develop recruitment procedures for nursing graduates, including identification, approach, and informed consent processes. Prof. Julia Franziska Lohmann will define the participant selection criteria for the qualitative component, develop the dissemination plan, and prepare written information sheets and consent forms together with Dr. Eliana. Secondary data acquisition procedures for PDDikti, UKNERS, and SATU SEHAT covering access permissions and data transfer mechanisms are to be handled by Prof. Ferry, Prof. Rini, and Prof. Firman. Dr. Eliana will also draft the survey instrument for students and graduates based on the existing conceptual framework. All contributions are expected to be submitted to Eliana and Julia by the end of the following week, with all outstanding points tracked in the Jira project management system.
The next meeting was confirmed as the full in-person team gathering scheduled for 13–17 June 2026 in Makassar, with a comprehensive agenda covering the stakeholder communication strategy, finalisation and translation of survey tools, an update on the LMU ethics submission, and a review of protocol readiness for the fieldwork phase planned to commence in August 2026.
