Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Di konferensi kecil tentang robotika, dosen kami mempresentasikan hasil riset terbaru. - At a small conference on robotics, our lecturer presents the latest research results.

di = basic preposition for physical locations:
- di rumah (at home)
- di kampus (on campus)
- di konferensi (at the conference)
pada = more formal/abstract “at / on / to”, often used with:
- time: pada hari Senin (on Monday)
- people/pronouns: pada mereka (to them)
- abstract things: pada kesempatan ini (on this occasion)
dalam = “in(side)” something, emphasizing inside-ness:
- dalam kotak (inside the box)
- dalam ruangan (inside the room)

A conference is treated as an event you are at, not inside in the literal sense, so di konferensi is the natural choice. Pada konferensi is possible in more formal writing, but di konferensi is the most common in everyday Indonesian.

Why is kecil after konferensi and not before it, like in English “small conference”?

In Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe:

konferensi kecil = small conference
buku baru = new book
mobil merah = red car

So:

English: small conference (adjective before noun)
Indonesian: konferensi kecil (noun + adjective)

Putting kecil before konferensi (kecil konferensi) is ungrammatical.

What does tentang mean here, and can it be replaced with mengenai?

tentang means “about / on / concerning”:

konferensi kecil tentang robotika
= a small conference about robotics

You can usually replace tentang with mengenai without changing the meaning very much:

konferensi kecil mengenai robotika

Differences in nuance:

tentang
- Very common, neutral, and used in both speech and writing.
- Slightly more informal/neutral.
mengenai
- Slightly more formal, common in writing, reports, official speech.

In this sentence, both are acceptable, but tentang sounds a bit more natural in everyday contexts.

What exactly does dosen mean? Is it just “teacher”?

dosen refers specifically to a lecturer or professor at a university or college.

dosen = university/college teaching staff (lecturer, professor, instructor).
guru = teacher at school (kindergarten, elementary, junior/senior high school).

So:

dosen kami = our lecturer / our professor (at university)
guru kami = our teacher (at school)

If you’re talking about someone who teaches you at university, dosen is the correct word, not guru.

Why is it dosen kami and not kami dosen?

Indonesian usually puts possessive pronouns after the noun:

dosen kami = our lecturer
rumah saya = my house
teman mereka = their friend

So:

English: our lecturer (possessive first)
Indonesian: dosen kami (noun first, then possessor)

kami dosen would sound like “we are lecturers”, but even that is not the usual way to say it. To say we are lecturers, you’d normally say:

Kami dosen. (simple statement, but sounds like a title)
or more naturally:
Kami adalah dosen. / Kami bekerja sebagai dosen.

In this sentence, you want our lecturer, so dosen kami is correct.

Why is kami used instead of kita? What’s the difference?

Both kami and kita mean “we / us”, but they differ in inclusiveness:

kami = we (excluding the person spoken to)
- our lecturer (not including the listener as part of the group)
kita = we (including the person spoken to)
- our lecturer (including the listener as part of the group)

Here, dosen kami suggests:

“our lecturer” = the lecturer of us students, but not necessarily yours (the listener’s).

If you were speaking to classmates who share the same lecturer, you could use kita:

dosen kita = our lecturer (yours and mine, inclusive)

With no context, dosen kami is the default, because you usually don’t assume the listener belongs to the same group.

What does mempresentasikan mean, and is it a loanword from English present?

Yes, mempresentasikan is formed from the English word “present” and means “to present (something)”, especially in a formal/academic sense:

dosen kami mempresentasikan hasil riset terbaru
= our lecturer presented the latest research findings

It’s a common, natural verb in Indonesian academic and professional contexts.

Other verbs with similar meanings:

memaparkan = to elaborate, to set forth (quite formal)
menyajikan = to present/serve (data, information, or food)
mengemukakan = to put forward (an idea, argument)
menghadirkan presentasi is not idiomatic; instead you say:
- memberikan presentasi = to give a presentation

But here, mempresentasikan hasil riset terbaru is perfectly idiomatic and natural.

How is the verb mempresentasikan formed? What does the prefix mem- do here?

mempresentasikan is built like this:

Root (loan) noun/verb: presentasi (presentation) or base present
Add prefix mem- (a variant of me-, the active verb prefix)
Add suffix -kan (often makes “causative” or “to do X to something”)

So:

presentasi (noun: presentation)
mempresentasikan (verb: to present something)

Function of parts:

me- / mem-: marks an active verb, “to do X”.
-kan: often adds the meaning “to do X to something / for someone” or “to cause something to be X”.

In practice for learners, treat mempresentasikan as the standard verb meaning “to present (information, results, etc.)”. You don’t usually say just mempresentasi.

Why is there no past tense marker in mempresentasikan even though the English translation is “presented”?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense (past, present, future). The verb mempresentasikan is the same for:

He presents
He presented
He will present

Tense is understood from context or from time expressions:

Kemarin, dosen kami mempresentasikan hasil riset terbaru.
= Yesterday, our lecturer presented the latest research results.
Besok, dosen kami akan mempresentasikan hasil riset terbaru.
= Tomorrow, our lecturer will present the latest research results.

You can add markers like:

sudah (already) – often used for completed actions:
- Dosen kami sudah mempresentasikan hasil riset terbaru.
  = Our lecturer has already presented the latest research results.

But grammatically, mempresentasikan itself doesn’t change shape for past or present.

Does hasil riset terbaru mean “the latest research results” or “the results of the latest research”? Which word does terbaru modify?

hasil riset terbaru can naturally be understood as:

“the latest research results”
or
“the results of the latest research”

In Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun they modify, and here you have noun + noun + adjective:

hasil (results)
riset (research)
terbaru (latest / newest)

Two common readings:

(hasil riset) terbaru
- “the latest (research results)”
- Here terbaru modifies the whole noun phrase hasil riset.
hasil (riset terbaru)
- “results of the latest research”
- Here terbaru is felt to modify riset.

In real usage, the difference is usually not important; both readings point to up‑to‑date research findings. If you really need to be explicit:

hasil riset yang terbaru = “the research results that are the latest”
hasil dari riset terbaru = “results from the latest research”

But in most academic contexts, hasil riset terbaru is clear enough and idiomatic.

What is the difference between riset and penelitian? Can I use them interchangeably?

Both relate to “research”, but there are some nuance and usage differences:

riset
- Loanword from English research.
- Common in academic, technical, and business contexts.
- Often sounds more modern or technical.
- Example: riset pasar (market research), riset dan pengembangan (R&D).
penelitian
- From native root teliti (careful, thorough).
- More formal and widely used in official documents, theses, etc.
- Example: penelitian ilmiah (scientific research), hasil penelitian (research findings).

In this sentence, both are possible:

hasil riset terbaru
hasil penelitian terbaru

They’re close enough in meaning that they are often interchangeable, but penelitian is slightly more “textbook/formal Indonesian”, while riset feels a bit more like the English technical register.

Can the phrase di konferensi kecil tentang robotika be moved to the end of the sentence? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, Indonesian word order is quite flexible with adverbial phrases like di konferensi kecil tentang robotika.

Original:

Di konferensi kecil tentang robotika, dosen kami mempresentasikan hasil riset terbaru.

You can also say:

Dosen kami mempresentasikan hasil riset terbaru di konferensi kecil tentang robotika.

Both are correct and natural.

Differences in feel:

At the beginning:
- Di konferensi kecil tentang robotika, …
- Emphasizes the setting first (where it took place).
At the end:
- … mempresentasikan hasil riset terbaru di konferensi kecil tentang robotika.
- Emphasizes the action and object first (what was presented), adding the place after.

The comma after the initial phrase is optional but common in writing to make reading clearer.

How do you pronounce konferensi and mempresentasikan in Indonesian? Where is the stress?

Indonesian pronunciation is generally regular, and stress is not as strong as in English. Rough guide:

konferensi
- Syllables: kon-fe-ren-si
- Typical stress: on ren: kon-fe-REN-si
- Vowels:
  - o as in “pot” (but shorter)
  - e in fe like “e” in “bed” (often [e])
  - e in ren can be [ə] or [e] depending on accent.
- Approx: kon-fe-REN-see
mempresentasikan
- Syllables: mem-pre-sen-ta-si-kan
- Common stress: on ta: mem-pre-sen-TA-si-kan
  (some speakers may sound almost even‑stressed)
- Pronunciation notes:
  - mem-: mem (like “mem” in “member”)
  - pre: pre (like “preh” in “present”)
  - sen: sen (short e, like “sen” in “sensible”)
  - ta: clear “tah”
  - si: “see”
  - kan: “kahn” (short a, not like English “can”)

Indonesian doesn’t reduce vowels as much as English, so try to pronounce each syllable clearly.