Congratulations to Nena! The Centre for Communication and Social Change celebrates our Centre affiliate, Nena Brodjonegoro, who won the first prize in the Speed Pitch competition at AANZCA25! Our winner shares a quick run-down of the prize and how it relates to her PhD research.
First tell us your research topic.
The interplay between waste sorting and communicative practices in everyday life of urban Indonesian householders.
Where are you up to with your PhD research?
I've conducted the first phase of my fieldwork, and getting ready for the second phase (which will be next month – argh!). I am also gearing up for my Progress Review 2 in RQ1 next year [that’s between January and March 2026].
Tell us about AANZCA.
It's short for the Australian & Aotearoa New Zealand Communication Association. They organise an annual conference hosted by different universities across both countries.
What is AANZCA’s pitching competition and why did you want to enter?
It's a competition specifically aimed at HDR students and ECRs who have submitted their abstracts for this year’s conference and were accepted. The idea is similar to the 3-Minute Thesis competition, except that this is a 2-Minute Speed Pitch (that's what they call it) competition. We were asked to “pitch” our paper to the wider audience and convince them to attend our session at the conference.
How does preparing for and winning (hooray!) the pitching prize help you progress in your PhD work?
It helped me progress in my PhD project particularly in sharpening my argument and making sense of the whole project in an easy-to-understand way. I was prompted to rethink a simpler answer to the “so-what” question about my research and ensure that it was delivered in a persuasive manner. Winning the prize helped me gain a sense of achievement that I think is important to help me sustain my PhD journey.
Thanks, Nena – and congratulations again!
