On 7 September 2026, IAS Visiting Scholar Dr Lidya Lestari Sitohang conducted a workshop for postgraduate students from Asian Studies and other programmes at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Drawing on her own PhD journey and extensive field experience across Indonesia, including research in the borderlands of Borneo, Dr Lidya shared insights into the realities of conducting field-based research and navigating the challenges of academic research.

The workshop provided students with an opportunity to reflect on their own research journeys, especially the preparation for fieldwork to engaging with communities and making sense of field experiences. The discussions also encouraged students to think more critically about the research design, field realities, and the researcher’s own position.