Bandung, 16 May 2025 – The English Language and Literature Study Program at FPBS UPI, in collaboration with SUN Education, successfully held an Academic Publishing Seminar at Auditorium B, FPBS UPI. The event, which ran from 09:00 to 11:00 AM WIB, was attended by lecturers and students from various programs within the faculty.
The seminar featured Dr. George Koutsouris from the University of Exeter, UK, as the keynote speaker. Dr. Koutsouris is an expert in the field of education and technology-enhanced learning, actively involved in multiple international research projects, including a collaborative initiative on disability support in higher education with partners from Yogyakarta. His full academic profile can be accessed at experts.exeter.ac.uk.
The event began with an opening session, followed by remarks from representatives of SUN Education Group as organizing partner, and from the Vice Dean III of FPBS UPI, Ms. Yanty Wirza, M.Pd., M.A., Ph.D., who expressed appreciation for the seminar. The main session was moderated by Ms. Rendila Restu Utami, S.S., M.A., leading into the presentation by Dr. George Koutsouris.
In his talk, Dr. George shared the story of his academic journey, which began with studies in History and Archaeology in Athens, Greece. However, after attending a seminar on special education and receiving a scholarship, he shifted his focus and pursued postgraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Exeter under the mentorship of an inclusive education expert.
He discussed the challenges he faced in his first academic publications - two articles that were eventually accepted with minor revisions, but only after experiencing numerous rejections. According to him, rejection is a natural part of the academic process, even for experienced authors.
He highlighted that the key challenges in publishing include time management, maintaining topic focus, understanding the journal’s audience, and being open to criticism. Dr. George advised participants to be patient, flexible, and strategic in choosing journals, and to seek peer feedback before submission.
As a final note, he emphasized the importance of understanding journal guidelines and publication objectives, as each discipline has its own conventions. He reminded attendees that rejection should not be seen as a failure, but rather as an essential step in developing higher-quality academic work.
The Q&A session was interactive and received positive feedback from participants. The seminar concluded with hopes that attendees would feel more prepared and confident in navigating the landscape of international academic publishing.
This activity is part of FPBS UPI’s academic internationalization efforts and aims to strengthen scholarly publishing literacy among its academic community.