Pada Maret, dosen kami mulai membahas rencana skripsi dengan lebih serius.

Here pada means in or during, when talking about time.

So Pada Maret = In March.

Indonesian often uses pada before months, dates, or times in more neutral or formal language. In everyday speech, people may also simply say Maret without pada, depending on context.

Examples:

• Pada bulan Maret = in the month of March
• Pada hari Senin = on Monday
• Pada pukul dua = at two o’clock

So in this sentence, Pada Maret is a natural way to set the time frame.

Usually, di is mainly for places, not for months.

So:

• di kampus = on campus
• di rumah = at home

But for time expressions like March, Monday, or 3 o’clock, Indonesian normally prefers pada or just the time word by itself.

So di Maret is generally not the standard choice here. Pada Maret sounds much more natural.

Because Maret is the name of a month, and month names are capitalized in Indonesian, just like in English.

Other examples:

• Januari
• April
• Desember

Dosen kami means our lecturer or our professor/instructor.

A few useful points:

• dosen is the Indonesian word for a university-level teacher.
• Indonesian nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural.
• So dosen kami can mean our lecturer or our lecturers, depending on context.

In this sentence, many learners would naturally read it as our lecturer, but grammatically it could be singular or plural unless the wider context makes it clear.

This is an important Indonesian distinction.

• kami = we/us/our, but not including the listener
• kita = we/us/our, including the listener

So dosen kami means our lecturer, where our refers to the speaker and their group, but not necessarily the person being spoken to.

If a student says this to someone outside the class, kami is correct:

• dosen kami = our lecturer

If the listener is part of the same group, sometimes kita could appear in other contexts, but with possession like this, kami is the natural choice if the speaker is talking about their own class or group.

Mulai means to start or to begin.

In this sentence:

• mulai membahas = started discussing

So the structure is:

• dosen kami = our lecturer
• mulai = started
• membahas = discussing

This is very common in Indonesian:

• mulai belajar = start studying
• mulai bekerja = start working
• mulai berbicara = start speaking

Bahas is the base/root form, while membahas is the verb form created with the meN- prefix.

• bahas = discuss/discussion-related root
• membahas = to discuss

In standard Indonesian, when the verb is used actively and the subject is doing the action, meN- forms are very common.

So:

• Dosen kami membahas... = Our lecturer discusses / discussed ...
• Dosen kami mulai membahas... = Our lecturer started discussing ...

Using just bahas would sound more informal, conversational, or nonstandard in this kind of sentence.

This happens because of Indonesian sound-change rules with the meN- prefix.

The root is bahas. When meN- attaches to a root beginning with b, it usually becomes mem-:

• baca → membaca
• buat → membuat
• bahas → membahas

So membahas is exactly what you would expect from the normal pattern.

Rencana skripsi is a noun phrase made of two nouns:

• rencana = plan
• skripsi = thesis / undergraduate thesis

Together, it means something like:

• the thesis plan
• plans for the thesis
• the undergraduate thesis plan

Indonesian often puts nouns directly next to each other like this, where the second noun specifies the first.

Compare:

• buku sejarah = history book
• jadwal kuliah = class schedule
• judul skripsi = thesis title

So rencana skripsi is completely normal without untuk or tentang.

Skripsi usually refers to an undergraduate thesis in Indonesia.

It is a very specific academic term in the Indonesian education system. Roughly speaking:

• skripsi = undergraduate thesis
• tesis = master’s thesis
• disertasi = doctoral dissertation

So learners should know that skripsi is not just any kind of writing assignment; it usually refers to the major final research paper for a bachelor’s degree.

Dengan lebih serius means more seriously.

Breakdown:

• dengan = with / in a ... way
• lebih = more
• serius = serious

So literally it is something like with greater seriousness, but in natural English it becomes more seriously.

This phrase describes the manner of discussing:

• They discussed the thesis plan more seriously
• They began discussing it in a more serious way

Because Indonesian does not always mark adjectives and adverbs separately the way English does.

In English:

• serious = adjective
• seriously = adverb

In Indonesian, serius can cover the idea of serious and, in the right structure, seriously.

The phrase dengan lebih serius is a very common way to express an adverbial meaning:

• dengan serius = seriously
• dengan lebih serius = more seriously

So even though serius looks like an adjective, the whole phrase functions adverbially.

Lebih means more, but Indonesian often leaves the comparison unstated when it is obvious from context.

So dengan lebih serius implies:

• more seriously than before
• more seriously than earlier discussions
• more seriously than they had been doing up to that point

This is very natural. English does this too:

• We need to talk about this more seriously. You do not always have to say than before.

Putting the time expression first is a common way to set the scene.

So:

• Pada Maret, dosen kami mulai membahas... means
• In March, our lecturer started discussing...

This fronted time phrase helps organize the sentence and tells the listener immediately when the action happened.

You could also say:

• Dosen kami mulai membahas rencana skripsi dengan lebih serius pada Maret.

That is also grammatical. The difference is mainly one of emphasis and flow.

The comma is natural because Pada Maret is an introductory time phrase at the start of the sentence.

In careful writing, this comma helps readability:

• Pada Maret, dosen kami mulai membahas...

In less formal writing, some people may omit it, but the version with the comma is clear and polished.

Not with exactly the same meaning.

• Pada Maret = in March / at that time in March
• Sejak Maret = since March

So:

• Pada Maret, dosen kami mulai membahas... means the starting point happened in March.
• Sejak Maret, dosen kami membahas... would suggest the discussion has been going on from March onward.

So pada is the right choice for the original meaning.

It sounds fairly neutral to slightly formal, and very natural in academic context.

Reasons:

• pada is a bit more formal than just omitting it
• dosen is an academic word
• membahas rencana skripsi is standard, formal enough wording
• dengan lebih serius sounds natural and appropriate in both speech and writing

So this sentence would fit well in conversation, student writing, or academic discussion.