The FastTrackGrad Podcast
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The FastTrackGrad Podcast
FastTrack Live Workshop #32 | From Engineer to Q1 Published Researcher
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In this live session, I’m joined by Feli Zuhendri, an engineer and company founder who went from early rejection to publishing in a Q1 journal — and now has multiple papers under review.
We’ll walk through:
- how he recovered from rejection without giving up
- the shift from “fast but vague” to precise, publishable research
- why over-reliance on AI initially hurt his paper — and how he fixed it
- what actually changes once you publish your first paper
- how these skills translated directly into his business leadership
This is an unedited, honest look at the publishing process, including the mistakes, the pressure, and the breakthroughs.
If you’re coming from industry, management, or a non-traditional academic background and wondering whether publishing is realistic for you, this session is for you.
Professor David Stuckler here. Welcome back to this week's Fast Track Live. Today's session I'm genuinely excited about because it captures something that I see all the time behind the scenes, but rarely gets talked about in a frank, honest way. We've got Feli Zwendry joining us, who came to work with us from a very non-traditional path. He's an engineer by training, was busy running a full-time business, not to mention a big family, and was trying to break into publishing. But Feli, like many people, hit wall after wall after wall, even faced rejections, and was trying to do this all with a full-time job and entrepreneurship. And so, like many people, maybe some of you who are watching too, Feli also had some challenges along the way. He leaned very heavily on AI in ways that felt productive, and as we're going to talk about, in some ways, were quietly holding him back. But what's remarkable is that Feli, in a short period of time, didn't just improve his academic writing or optimize his workflow, which he also did, but he fundamentally changed how he approached research. And that shift in approach opened the floodgates for success, led to a string of Q1 publications, almost that hockey stick moment you kind of hear about where things really take off, and got him full scholarships and fundamentally altered his trajectory. And hopefully I'm not going too far, Feli will correct me if I'm wrong. Not just in business, but in life. So today is not just a hype story, it's a real story about struggle, confusion, false starts, recalibration, and what really moves the needle when you're trying to publish seriously. So, Feli, uh thanks so much for joining us. I'm I'm super excited to have you here joining us. I know you're in Indonesia and it's late at night, so you're literally burning some midnight oil to join us. Um, how are you doing?
SPEAKER_02Good, good. I mean, thanks for having me. And I'm I'm so stoked to be invited and uh to to be sharing my story. I guess I think a lot of people can can get some some good points from from this discussion.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think a lot of people can relate to where you where you were and and want to get to where you're at now. So look, let's uh cut the fluff, go straight to the beginning. Where uh flashback to before we started working together. Um where were you? What were you trying to do? What wasn't working? Yeah, run us from the beginning. Right.
SPEAKER_02So I mean, I always wanted to have a doctorate like uh in my life. I was dreaming for a doctorate uh since I was uh doing my master's. I actually got into a PhD program, I got offered a PhD program in the University of Miami like 20 years ago, but I decided not to take it because of one thing or another, right? And then I got into a professional uh uh field in engineering, and then uh up to this point, before we started working together, I think I I uh running an engineering company, having a doctorate or PhD would definitely uh uh boost the credibility of the company, right? So at that point, I was just starting looking for uh a DBA program. I'm actually doing a uh a part-time master's uh program right now as well in uh management. So I was uh uh trying to figure out what kind of uh uh uh roadmap that I should take, right? And then your videos came up. I guess uh our phone really tracking us. Okay, YouTube just came up, your your videos just came up, and then uh one video uh that you ended up uh saying that there's a program, your program, a fast track program that have a guaranteed uh in publication, but required us to show up, right? That really caught my attention. And then I just uh email you. Uh I guess I WhatsApp you or call you or email you uh uh from from from straight from that after watching the videos. And then and if you remember the first uh uh two or three sessions uh of our uh discussion or brainstorming session, I kept uh flipping back and forth on themes, and I didn't really know, I was undecided, and then I took a hard left turn and just stick with hard science.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, I remember uh at the beginning you were thinking about you you were torn between going down more management path or sticking to sort of your core engineering work, and and ultimately we went more towards the engineering path. Um, but yeah, fellas. So, you know, when when you first started out, um and and you had this goal for publishing, it really seems to have come from you wanting to boost your business. Um and I guess tell me a little bit about uh at the beginning and where you were, because you it sounds like you fumbled around for a bit. Uh was it that you didn't know where to start or what was it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I guess I mean uh I I love uh reading the journals, right? I I try, I I mean, uh even in doing my business, I uh I basically told my engineers and my team to always go to the uh journals to look for answers, right? But I mean uh uh telling I keep telling myself like it'll be nice. I mean, uh we we are sitting in uh basically uh I mean uh a mountain mountain of data, right? Like these past 10 years, I we have a mountain of data, and I'm pretty sure this data can be published. Because it's uh it's uh I've I've never looked at uh I mean we are heavily involved in industrial wastewater, and uh it's just uh I mean it's in at the uh cutting edge of water treatment, and it's not, I mean, there are not many data uh available around. So that was my my initial intention, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's interesting you say that because yeah, you came to us with a lot of real-world experience, a lot of insights, but it was also figuring out how to connect that to academic research so that we could almost in a way demonstrate the international power of what you were doing in a way that would, for your business, show that you're right at the front edge, pushing the frontier and doing something innovative and and sort of trumpet your success even more. Um, tell me a bit uh about and maybe share with us what was it like to work together? Did you have any moments when things clicked or an aha moment? Was it with a topic or the methods?
SPEAKER_02Yes, right, plenty, plenty, plenty of right. So in the beginning, I was just trying to cut corners, right? Because I was so busy, I try to find a way. I like I'm I keep telling myself, I'm pretty sure I can cut some corners, I can use AI to to to speed up the process and see. I mean, I mean, try to to chip my way to the publication. And then I remember at one point you just uh started to call me out. Feli, are you using uh do you have somebody to write for you? Right? You just started calling me out, and I was like, damn, so it's not it's not that, I mean, it's not uh this type of process. I can uh now uh after that that moment, after that session, I kind of stopped and then I uh I I told myself, okay, I mean, if I'm about to embark on this journey, might as well do it the right way.
SPEAKER_00Right? I I remember I remember that conversation, it was a hard conversation. Uh researchers worked with me say I'm fierce but loving. That was definitely one of those those moments together. Um we almost had to jolt you out of the the way you were doing things before. Um yes, yes, yes.
SPEAKER_02And I mean, uh to add to that, because of I mean the uh point of doing this the right way is just uh basically not for other people, it's actually improving myself uh personally in terms of how I gather or uh uh basically uh pick out the right data or pick out the right uh uh uh good data from this noise, right? From this world of noise. I mean that moment, I mean doing the the doing the program, I I I I kind of found myself, uh rediscover myself, and then just okay, right? And then uh and then I I kind of uh uh transmit that type of idea and uh uh to my team. So even in the business, in my uh organization, uh there's a transformation uh uh movement of okay, doing it the right way, right? Not trying to cut corners, right? Because it's empowering to not the uh not only the organization, but to ourselves, right? So the the uh multiplying effect is just it's just uh massive.
SPEAKER_00That's uh yeah, that's really really fascinating. I mean, we we set out to to publish some papers uh and kind of boost your research skills, but uh you've really highlighted on a couple things. One in in AI, how um you AI we're finding with a lot of researchers remove some early friction. So you can actually get really far down the path, feel good until later on everything starts crumbling. And AI is changing kind of the structures of where errors happen in research. So I'm seeing more and more people uh end up in a train wreck, except they've gone very far on the train before the wreck happens and they're going at a higher velocity, and sometimes the crash is um harder than what I used to see in working with people. Um but then also bigger that that shift in your your thinking. Um, do you remember that that moment? I want to take you back to that moment where you thought, I need to rethink this, or do you do you remember what was going on there?
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah, I mean, I kept telling myself, I mean, uh I'm I'm I'm I'm already spending the money, right? Might as well do it uh the right way, right? I mean, I'm spending the money, I'm spending the time, and my goal is to be uh recognized internationally and boost my business, right? Yeah, I mean uh I I after that point after that moment, I kind of stop and then actually by doing it the right way, it's the fastest way, right? That's the that's the irony, yeah. That's yes, yes, that's the irony. I mean, doing it the right way is actually the fastest way, instead of I mean, after you've gone down the the rabbit hole and then you try to find yours uh yourself back to the uh point one. I mean, you you are I mean you are so lost.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I know I remember the first paper. Um we we started with a systematic review, which is something we often recommend. Um, at the time, did that feel like a detour for you, or did you sense it was starting to do something bigger?
SPEAKER_02Uh I think uh now looking back, systematic review, I think is the uh I would say the gold standard of review. After reading all the reviews, I've I've now I've gone through so many reviews, I guess. Systematic review is just basically uh is the most unbiased way of doing review. Because if you look at the narrative review or uh uh uh all other types of review, it's it's you have you have bias, right? But by doing systematic review, you you cut down the bias. That that for me, I think that that's the uh the big the big uh takeaway point of systematic review. Yes. Um I'm actually doing uh two more papers, uh systematic review papers now.
SPEAKER_00Man, I want to I want to come back to this because you hit the hug, but I remember you kept coming back to me like, hey prof, I got another paper. I got another paper. Like, Feli, what what? Uh it's amazing. Um let me ask you though, what so think about that review for a second, and you said before you read journals and you always were wanting to be close to evidence as an engineer and entrepreneur. Were there skills that forced you to develop, maybe mental muscles that you felt like you didn't have before? Did it change how you read and engaged with those with the evidence and science in your field?
SPEAKER_02Yes, not not the mental muscle uh necessarily, but the skill of uh I remember uh the first time uh we were doing uh uh the sessions, prof. I I kept telling, I kept asking you, prof, how do you do that? How do you how do you pick out uh the sentences or the keywords so quickly? Now uh because of doing the programs, now uh now I'm at the point where I can basically pick out the right information and the skill of of uh uh honing down for uh the correct information and picking it and then putting on my paper or putting on the draft. Yeah, uh, this is a good one that I can use it for my introduction or my conclusion, right? So it's it's becoming more natural as time progresses.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's huge. That's huge. That's a bill. Sorry, go go ahead, Fellet.
SPEAKER_02And and one one one last thing before we move on. Uh my actually, my my speaking skill, if you notice, prof, the the beginning of the session, like since I'm uh English is not my first uh uh language, right? I'm I'm I'm native Indonesian, so I speak Indonesian. But because of doing the program, I've been living, I've I've been uh I mean I left uh the States 20 years ago and I've been living in the in Indonesia, so I kind of uh I'm I was losing my my my speak uh English speaking skill, right? But by doing the program and uh by getting back into writing, I actually improved my communication skill and my my presentation skill in English, which is nice, a very extra, it's a very nice point to have.
SPEAKER_00I didn't know that. I I didn't know that. Um that's fascinating, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I I kind of noticed that now, like doing this program. Wow, I've got a lot of uh extra points from the people level up in the skills.
SPEAKER_00Very cool. No, I I I didn't think about that, but definitely being the language of business and science communication, having that extra confidence when you present. And and I think that's something that research gives you that in your field. You just feel in talking with others that I've read, I mean, literally in the systematic review, I've read everything. And that that confidence, uh a lot of people tell me, is is really priceless. Um so let me uh I wanted to I've got a lot of questions for you, Opheli. I kind of want to get to uh a little bit where where are you now concretely? So that was the first paper, the systematic review. Um yeah, where are you now? Okay. What's changed?
SPEAKER_02Right, in terms of the papers, uh I just uh uh we got officially the second paper on the Q1 got officially released uh yesterday, right, on the 17th. And the third one, I think, I think uh it's also on uh I mean it's uh been accepted for review. It's been uh I saw the uh LC by have a tracking system. One reviewer has done the review, and I'm waiting for the second reviewer to to finish up. So and I'm I'm I've submitted the fourth paper two weeks ago and trying to uh waiting to hear back from another Q1 journal. And I got invited on uh on a Q1 invitation only journal, uh, and it's a well-known journal to uh to voice my my opinion, which is very, very nice. I mean very well.
SPEAKER_00That's a proverbial fast track when you start getting a string of papers out and you start getting noticed, and right in some cases, even the Q1 journals start coming to you. That's uh that that's powerful, right?
SPEAKER_02And then I got accepted or I got offered a PhD program, a full scholar, uh full funded uh full scholarship PhD program in the top four uh uh uh university in the world for water resources with a fancy fancy lab.
SPEAKER_00So uh so everything just got full circle from Miami before 20 years ago. Right. Wow, right, so it's a believable. I mean, I hope you can see I'm I'm just so proud of your progress because I know this was actually hard fought along the way. I mean, it might you know, people might see where you are now and be like, oh well, Feli is just a genius, this is amazing, but um, there was a real struggle. I mean, I remember too just taking a step back again, the systematic review got rejected the first time. And do you remember what that was like?
SPEAKER_02Very harshly. Remember, prof? It was like basically the reviewer said, This is crap. Yeah, well, but I guess the uh the uh uh the spirit of just getting it published even on a Q3 journal, it's just yeah, I mean that that feeling of of uh uh uh uh getting past the finish line, really important.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, huge. Yes, huge. Yes, yeah. I I remember that you got those first peer reviews, and we're really gutted by them. And we kind of even at the outset, we were kind of calibrating where it could be, and I try to help you see what are the trade-offs that where I think realistically this topic can end up. But it's still when you get if you ever get a rejection, it feels like a knife in the gut. And I remember at one point you wanted to throw in the towel, you're like, oh yes, you didn't want to have another point.
SPEAKER_02Right. I was that close to okay, let's not continue on this path. I have something else on my mind. I remember that vividly.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but um, yeah, something got you to push through it, and uh yeah, then then it got accepted. And I remember that too. There's a distribution of the draw and reviewers, and I think, well, has that changed how you approach peer review now in that critical feedback? It's having seen someone says it's crap, and then someone else says this is brilliant.
SPEAKER_02Right, right. Now, I mean, uh looking back at the I guess the peer review uh process is not perfect, but I guess uh uh peer review process uh to me is the best uh process there is, right? Because you got so many opinions uh from so many experts. So I guess that process of uh peer reviewing is for me uh is just uh validating. If you get past that, it just validates your idea, right? You and you get the confident boost that you you uh very much so need.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm gonna come back to confidence again. And and I really take away that one of the things we want to train is is research literacy and like you've been able to sift through the noise and find truth. And uh that's a life skill. You said something before that the thinking here like a researcher actually affected how you run your business. Can can you give us a concrete example of this?
SPEAKER_02Yes, so uh the big thing about uh this uh peer-reviewed journal, right, is uh big uh the big takeaway point for me is the method section, right? So you have results and discussion, you have a results section, and you have a method section. So uh now uh in in my business, I always uh make sure that the method section is uh is is being written down. Because that is like the uh our I guess our northern star. You'll go uh get lost, you always go back to the method section, and then uh uh you can use that as your your your your reference and go to the results and the discussion section. So now I I I really put method section on the pedestal that in my organization.
SPEAKER_00So you get a when I think about the inside out writing method for writing a paper, you're actually doing that in in the business. Wow.
SPEAKER_02Yes. So I mean, method section for us now in the organization is the way to really filter out the noise. I guess that that would like you said, right? Just start writing down the method section first because you'll get to uh I mean it'll it'll it'll uh it'll it'll basically train you to write uh uh uh you have that flow. Right, so you always go back to the method section.
SPEAKER_00So is that like you mean setting up like s SOPs for your employees? Yes. And got it, got it, got it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so that will be um I mean that will be uh uh organization-wide uh type of approach. So I'll go and then where's your method section? I want to see your method section because from the method section you can tell the results is correctly uh produced or not, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because you can exactly the method is just kind of perfectly designed to produce the results you're gonna get. Um it's interesting, yeah. I mean, we we work with a publishing system, and that uh you've been able to lift some system elements and start systematizing some of your operations. Uh well, I mean, definitely. I think if when we first um met and you were looking to publish a paper and trying to cut some corners, even if I said, hey Felly, in in the short time, you're gonna have all right multiple papers published, full scholarship at a top place, and uh your whole business is gonna change. I I don't think you would have believed me.
SPEAKER_02No, not in a million years. I mean, if you if you find me, if you found me uh a year ago, I was like, I've I was so clueless, I was just exploring, okay, how do I uh boost my credibility right in the business world? And I think I need to get a doctorate, and then your systematic review video came up, and then we started working together in a paper that got trashed the first time we submitted, and then to now, I mean, it was just not even a year, prof. It wasn't even a year. I I remember we started on the on on March, right?
SPEAKER_00And on March, yeah, yeah, that's that's right, yeah, that's right. Wow, and you've got basically wow. Uh it's a it's amazing it's amazing what not even a year can do.
SPEAKER_02Um yes, yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00I guess I guess I want to ask you some oh sorry, Philly, I didn't want to cut you off. Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. I mean, I guess I just want to ask you because I am aware we're approaching the end of the year, um, and some people are thinking about what they it's a time to reflect and think about what they might want to do differently in 2026. Um, what would you tell someone who's where you were a year ago?
SPEAKER_02I mean uh uh getting uh yourself into the uh mode of publishing, I mean, try to publish in general is just basically not only adding to the pool of knowledge, but you're actually uh uh helping yourself uh uh to level up in a massive, massive way. Because uh in in publishing in peer review and getting hammered here and there, getting uh rejected and then getting uh scrutinized on your work, really uh uh I mean right by being humbled, you you kinda work harder to get at yourself, I mean, to work you harder, right? Yeah. So that's that that type of process, I guess it's uh it's it's really needed, uh no matter uh at what uh stage of your career you are now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. That commitment to continuously improve, push your limits. Um but I I do know that that triggered, uh in some cases in you, felly, as it does in many people, feelings like, oh, maybe uh self-doubt and and resistance and can lead to change. And it that transformation uh is not always just a smooth, uh gentle process, or everybody would be able to come out to the other side with the superpower you have now of publishing, and sounds like you've got over five papers in the pipeline is huge. All right, let me ask you another thing because you can learn from what works, you can also learn from what doesn't work. So, what would you not do again if you could go back a year ago?
SPEAKER_02Right. So, not I mean, uh not having uh AI as my driver, right? I mean, so what I was doing uh uh at that point, prof, I was so uh uh frustrated on not getting anywhere. So I'll just download the paper and then put it on the uh Chat GPT because you can upload it up to 10 files, and then I'll just basically crank up whatever information that Chat GPT uh uh can I and once I I put all the prompts and then I'll just start to pull out the information. I remember this now.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah, yeah, right.
SPEAKER_02So and it was just oh god, and then uh and then you call me out, and then I just kind of okay, let's relax. Let's and then uh let's wait, right?
SPEAKER_00And then which turned out to be the easier way in in the end, but I do remember okay, now we're getting into the weeds a bit, but I remember you were stripping out some information for the review that wasn't fully answering your research question and was starting to go kind of off-piece to off the ski slope a bit, and we kind of brought you back to say, okay, uh what's the structure? And use the did plus found formula to explain the study so that people okay. Yeah, I'm I am remembering this. I personally when I got to go on the journey with you, I had to learn a lot about MBR treatment systems, differences between municipal and industrial systems. Um and really what struck me too was just the power of pre-treatment, but um of industrial waste. Any anyway, I I digress. Yeah, it's just I've learned a lot about the industry, which is a great joy for me. We're gonna have people here. Um, I can see in the chat are asking a lot of questions. So I'm just gonna throw those questions, some of these up for you. Um, so let me pull the chat onto the stream, felly. I don't know if it'll show everything. No, it's only gonna show uh okay, it's only showing some recent comments, but I want to go, let me come back. I want to come to some of these, but I want to come to the the so in the first one we've got somebody from Pakistan joining us. We're truly international. Um someone is saying uh that they used our our notes and finished their research on e-health. Very, very cool. Um, I hear that a lot. Uh we we uh we've got some fantastic YouTube guides on my channel, and uh I I tried to give away for free what others would charge you for. Um and uh we have Ananda saying, hey Ananda, motivational and inspiring. And um Babatunda saying, uh fellow, you're doing it well. Uh Hibani saying skill is in the skull. I sometimes, um my assistant in the community, Marina, is Greek, and we we sometimes talk about Plato and for her, knowledge is you gotta come out of the cave to see knowledge. For me, it's sort of it's been in the skull, you just need to hold a light up to the cave to reveal it. It was in there, you have to unlock it. Ongoing philosophical debate. I digress. Um here, Sonia says, I can't wait for Christmas to be over so I can work on another systematic review on the themes of my thesis. The first one I did was okay, but not publishable. Um, that's an interesting comment, Sonia. I sometimes find that, yeah, the same amount of work, same amount of time, actually, even less time, if you do it in the right way, and and you get you'll convert that intent into publishable product. Um, Babituni saying big congrats to Yufeli. Um and Hamza truly mesmerizing. Okay, lots of comments here, guys, today. Uh Hibani uh recognizes the side effect of being pump, humble, awesome. Abdirani asks, how do you assess the assistance you got and was it worthy of the money you spent? I I can't answer that one, obviously.
SPEAKER_02Well, well, I can I can tell you it's well, I mean, I mean, I would uh for for the results that I got, I would have paid more. I would have paid more. I mean, right, I mean, uh, it's just uh uh by by having the one-on-one, it just really compresses the time that I would have spent otherwise. Right. For me, at least in my position, time is is is money, right? The faster I can get to where I'm at, the more the s uh the uh the more money actually I save. Right. So it's it's just it just saves so much time and effort by having access to to you one-on-one. Right. That that that was the big takeaway point. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh thanks for sharing that, fellow. Yeah, there's always a cost to doing something and a cost to not doing something. And I find a lot of people though, that especially researchers, they're smart. I think you too, felly. I think you would have gotten there in the end, it would have just been uh a longer, torturous process.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no. I mean, I if if you don't have if you didn't show me the way, I wouldn't have done it, prof, to be honest. I mean, if I didn't take your class, take your your program, I wouldn't have done it. Because it was just too much work. I'll have to figure out from from from I don't know, uh I I think I could have spent like five years and get to nowhere. Because it was so formulaic. It was so formulaic.
SPEAKER_00That's true. That is true. We we do break the whole process down into kind of baby steps that you can take one paper at a time, baby steps, and we make sure the baby step is right before going on to the next baby step. And uh, and and that was exactly some of those baby steps that we had to inject the fierce but loving conversations. But uh yes, yes. That's true, that's true. I I guess you make a point that somebody could get pretty demoralized if they after spinning their wheels, especially as busy as you are, and just start to think, oh well, this is not for me, maybe I can't do that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I can I can easily see that. I mean, if I would have done it by myself, like this is not for me. Definitely not.
SPEAKER_00Um yeah, I I mean, definitely uh in my own journey along the way, I was fortunate to have a lot of mentors. Um, and again, I I think a message here is that uh having a mentor could could be us if we're a good fit, could be somebody else. But you need that because think about you're a smart person asks, how can I do this? But the even smarter person asks, who can show me how? And uh yeah, that that resonates with my my own journey uh to where I am today. Um Philly, uh Abdirman asks another question here. Uh, what was one critical factor that turned around when you joined the program?
SPEAKER_02Well uh it's just uh the uh I guess the critical factor, there are critical uh factors. I wouldn't have boiled it down to one one critical factors, but it's just the uh the the formula that that uh uh prof presented and the uh the program that actually uh it's just a mini uh uh it's just a mini peer review session, right? So the program will basically uh criticize your ideas and then we'll try to nut you in the right way and uh to get a good idea, the publishable idea, publishable product. So that for me was was a big uh uh help. Right.
SPEAKER_00That's true. Yeah, we did wrestle on the topic because I wanted to make sure you had a publishable topic, but also going in that you knew how to establish and validate the topic so that now you can do I mean doing the systematic review again now. Are you following those same steps to establish and validate the topic?
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah, for sure, 100%.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, do you find do you find that is making uh I often say after the first paper, the second and third are faster? Did that correlate with your experience?
SPEAKER_02Yes, uh faster in terms of not only uh getting the uh the uh the uh the words right, but critically assessing where the gap is, right, in the field, right? So you keep uh I remember uh you uh in your sessions you kept uh emphasizing, okay, find the gap by going to the future research, going to the introduction, right? So that type of uh formulas really, really speed things up.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. And you I definitely could see in the journey you sort of become much more precise. Um on the whole. Let me we got some people who are very interested in your business because we've got some environmental chemists, uh Felly, some people who like the uh method section approach to your management. Uh Babatuna says, for someone who wants to be a researcher, I study environmental chemistry and I can hear from Feli about systematic view. What's the best idea to give someone uh like me who's interested in being a graduate researcher? He also asks for Feli, how can someone get enrolled into his organization? Uh uh from somebody who's starting Journeys MS.
SPEAKER_02Right, find me in my LinkedIn on my LinkedIn. Or you can contact me on my LinkedIn anytime. Yes. But I guess going back to the first question, uh I guess uh getting into the uh uh habit of doing a systematic review, because I'm now I'm publishing, I would I would say I'm working on the third systematic review right now because not only it really uh uh uh uh help you finding the gap in the field, but really push you to uh scan through uh whatever people are doing that is not working and is working, yeah. Right. So I guess again, I I keep repeating myself, I guess systematic review is the gold standard of all review.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, right. Yes, I mean we we find that it's just a powerful starting point for just taking uh it changes the way you synthesize and think about evidence, and in in our whole world, everything we do, especially in an AI age where there's lots of AI slop and noise, we've got an overwhelm of information. The power is being able to sift through that noise and find find the gold, uh, like a laser beam and hone in, and uh systematic reviews help you do that. There's that transformation. You came in, Feli, I think wanting to publish, and I just see you on the other side of it.
SPEAKER_02Um, I actually came in. Remember, no, uh I was I was gonna go for a PhD or doctorate prof. I was like, okay, I just want to get it done and get my PhD so I can start degree, right? That was just a shallow way, uh the way I was thinking. It was just okay, I I need to get a doctor in my uh in the name uh of my name, and then I just can start selling like crazy. But it was so shallow now that going after the program, I see the uh the big value. Now I got uh into a PhD, a real PhD program.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so it's just uh a life-changing experience for me at least, right?
SPEAKER_00Um fell look, I I just appreciate you sharing just so so candidly what your your experience was like in the journey, um, and also the the struggles you faced along the way. Uh Abdirahman writes, um, thanks for the candid and honest response. Uh I think what's powerful here isn't just the outcome, but also that that process, how you've moved to a place from noise and wanting to cut corners to actually even going faster, having direction and judgment. And for those who are watching here, if this resonates, if you're feeling stuck, if you're over-relying on AI or just unsure uh why your work isn't landing, you're not alone. Uh everybody starts from that place uh of being a beginner. It's a necessary stage in the journey. And there is a better way to approach it. If you do want to explore whether working together with us makes sense for you, you'll find a link below. Otherwise, just stick around, follow my YouTube channel, and we have we try to distill the best step-by-step training. Of course, what we can do inside the program working together in a more intimate way is obviously a lot deeper than uh what I can provide through videos, but we are committed to trying to uh create the access that I wish I personally would have had as a grad student and make it universal and worldwide, not just what was passed down in the ivory towers, like I got from mentors at at Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge. Ravik Kumar asks, and we'll take a couple more questions, Billy, and then uh we'll wrap up. Ravik Kumar um asks, what did you do for good writing?
SPEAKER_02Right. I mean, uh the program kind of uh helped me to uh start with the method section, right? Just start writing the method section. Once you go uh do the inside out uh uh technique uh that the program introduces, it's just from that point on, it's just smooth sailing for some reason. I don't know why. Because I guess you get the you you hit the easiest uh part first, right? And then you get your your brain warm, like when you're starting a car, right? You get everything, your engine warm, and then you start writing the method section, it's just smooth sailing from that point, and then you go to the results section, and then from that you you go to the uh discussion section and then introduction. That's it. It's so now it's so natural, right? It's so natural. I guess it takes practice.
SPEAKER_00Not part of the flow, but I also know uh felly, we we pushed you a bit with our writing system too, and the peer review, yes, the peer, uh, the yes, the peer method.
SPEAKER_02So I mean, once you get the ideas right, the peep, the point, and then you do the example, and then you reiterate the point, it's so formulate, I guess, right? It's not like like you always keep saying the prop always keeps saying that it's not like we are writing a creative writing process, it's just we are presenting what the results is, it's very linear, right?
SPEAKER_00It's a linear exactly linear, clear, lean, but um that that's good. Yeah, I mean definitely, Feli, I I remember that. I have a senior writing transform on the other side, and um it sounds like some of that spilled over into your business communication and presentation. Um, Hamza says, uh, speaking from experience, I got to join FTG community for a week, and it helped to end thesis effectively. Um wow, Hamza, that's awesome. Uh uh, I don't know if you were at my my workshop here over the weekend, but that's uh that's massive, fast progress. I gotta hear more about that. Um but yeah, um, Feli, again, I I think this is we're getting to a good stopping point. How can people get in touch with you? You said LinkedIn. Uh are you happy for us to leave your email or what's the same thing?
SPEAKER_02So you can't, I didn't I didn't write my last name. So my last name is uh uh Zulhendry with a Z-U-L H E N D R I. So it's felly Zulhendry.
SPEAKER_00So they can see that here if they want to uh look you up. We've got Philly Zulhendry, yes, and um excellent. And felly, uh again, I just want to thank you for sharing your story and just proud so proud of in the next chapter.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, I didn't think that it was gonna be uh this crazy fast.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I I can't guarantee everybody, I mean I can guarantee we'll get you to the finish line, but I can't guarantee everybody has a hockey stick moment that you had so quickly uh in the journey. Uh right.
SPEAKER_02Well, I guess what one thing that I I must disclose that one thing that helped me to uh get uh to publish fast is because I'm sitting on a mountain of data. So that really helps, right? So that really helps getting your uh having your your your massive amount of data really, really helped.
SPEAKER_00I mean, you even surprised me because we did the systematic review, you got and and those habits, and then suddenly you had papers coming fast and furious. I I mean I remember uh you it we had done some um because it's not my core field where um we were working a bit on the economic analysis side, the cost effectiveness, but then she just started blasting the these out. Um and then um I saw I did see you posted about the paper on LinkedIn. Um are you finding that scientific credibility? Are you are you getting any different treatment from people in your field? Are they seeing you in a new light? Or what what's that like in your core field now?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Now people are actually DMing uh DMing me uh from uh not only uh not only Indonesia, but now I got invitation from uh Singapore, Nanyang uh uh uh Polytech, which is a big uh engineering school in Singapore. So they're uh he they're inviting me uh to uh to stop by on the January 9th, and I also got an invitation. From another university in Australia as well.
SPEAKER_00So you're on the international speaking circuit.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So now that I'm speaking their language and they see that I'm sitting on a big amount of data, industrial data, now it's becoming very interesting, right? For the academia and the industry. Now that I'm speaking the language of the industry and academia, I can marry them together and produce even more powerful uh solutions for the uh for for for the industry or for for the universities as well. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Right through right. Um, so very very cool, felly. Uh I'm having goosebumps actually. I was gonna say, I'm I'm getting so funny. I was just about to say I get goosebumps from your story. Uh because I get I man, I mean, this is part of why I do this. I get so much joy out of this transformation because uh it it it's life-altering. I mean, I remember yeah uh anyway, but I I I don't want to digress on my story. This is about you uh about you here. Um last last couple things, um, because we keep getting questions. And uh Ravi Kumara asks, what is your thought process before starting a new research?
SPEAKER_02So uh I have no thought process. So what I do is I go to the future uh direction of all the papers that I read. So that like the uh this is what the program is always uh teaching, right? Go to the paper and then go to the uh discussion section or the conclusion section, find a gap there. That was just basically pointing you down the right road, right? You don't have to rediscover, you don't have to even do anything else, just follow whatever the paper is saying. This is what we need, and then you just continue building on that, diggy back on the uh gap.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's true. That is in our topic accelerator course. It's that I do see people come at with a topic that maybe they came up with Chat GPT, and it's just not connected to where the conversation is in the field. Um, that's a really good now. That is a shortcut. That uh it's not only a shortcut, it's like the right, it's faster and it's uh a really good way to go. Um I thought where you might have gone with this, Feli, is that uh because you have you're sitting on this mountain of data that you might think about what you want to show, some of your your questions, the things that are in that sweet spot of business and research. Um, does that does that go into your thought process at all, Feli? Of like what you want? So there's a thought process of optimizing for publication, but then there's also optimizing for you personally and where you want to go.
SPEAKER_02Yes. So I have now I have the power to uh to publish data that that is not too uh uh too jeopardizing to my business, but to but it will increase my credibility, right? But then I can now I can pinpoint okay, I can I don't share this, right? This is important for the business, but this is I can I can add to the community from this data, right? So that type of play is is now is uh this is what I'm doing.
SPEAKER_00Awesome, Feli. Feli, look, I I think we're gonna wrap up here. I'm just gonna echo Babatunda here. For thanks for the insights and sharing a story to inspire upcoming researchers. We'll be back in the new year. Well, actually, even next week, Friday, same time, same place. Um, if you want, that will be a session. We will be reviewing your submissions, live troubleshooting your research together. And if I see a lot of submissions on the same theme, I'll add a mini training at the beginning. So I always read and reply to every submission. When you send us a video question, follow this QR code here. And and Feli, I might uh tap you into joining us again. This is it's just fun to do. I'll be happy to come in and uh so if we get a lot of environmental chemists sending systematic reviews, Felly. Uh, we're gonna bring you on as as a new coach, pretty much. But your thoughts for some of them and guys, definitely get in touch with Feli. He's is one of the genuine just genuine uh nice, nice guy, great to work with. And uh I learned a lot from working with you, Feli. I'm excited for your future and uh will definitely stay in touch.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_00Have a good one. All right, yeah. See you soon. Bye, everyone. Bye for now.