Helping Young Professionals Stay Strong, Adaptable, and Hopeful in a Changing World
The Career Resilience Project is a research and capacity-building initiative launched in 2025 by the Center for Career and Capacity Development Studies (CAREERS) at the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP), Indonesia.
This project was created in response to a growing reality faced by many young people today: the transition from education to work is becoming more uncertain, competitive, and emotionally demanding. Rapid technological change, shifting labor markets, and social pressures mean that early-career professionals need more than technical skills — they also need the ability to adapt, recover from setbacks, stay motivated, and keep moving forward.
At its heart, the Career Resilience Project asks an important question:
What helps young people remain confident and resilient while building their future careers?
To answer this, the project focuses on three main goals:
- Developing a Career Resilience Scale
The project is developing a psychological tool, the Career Resilience Scale, to better understand how young adults cope with career challenges, uncertainty, and change. - Identifying What Builds Career Resilience
The research explores the personal and social factors that help young people stay strong and adaptable in the early stages of their careers. - Understanding Why Career Resilience Matters
The project also investigates how career resilience may contribute to positive outcomes such as well-being, motivation, confidence, and long-term career growth.
Beyond Research: Building People, Partnerships, and Possibilities
The Career Resilience Project is more than a research study. It also serves as a platform for learning, international collaboration, and talent development.
Hosted by Prof. Dian Ratna Sawitri, Ph.D., the project has brought together scholars, postdoctoral fellows, and invited speakers from Indonesia and abroad to support the growth of early-career talents through collaborative activities and knowledge exchange.
These initiatives include:
Postdoctoral Research Collaboration
Supported by the World Class University (WCU) UNDIP Fund, the project welcomed postdoctoral fellows from both Indonesia and overseas, including scholars from:
- Universitas Negeri Jakarta
- Universitas Negeri Semarang
- James Cook University, Australia
These collaborations helped enrich the project with diverse perspectives on career development, resilience, and the future of work.
Early-Career Talents Workshop Series
The project also organized workshops for emerging talents, featuring speakers from Universitas Diponegoro, Wenzhou-Kean University, and Korea University.
These sessions created a space for young professionals and scholars to reflect on questions such as:
- How do we stay resilient in uncertain times?
- What helps us grow through challenge?
- How can we build careers that are not only successful, but also meaningful and sustainable?
A Growing Vision for the Future
In 2026, CAREERS expanded its mission and evolved into the:
Center for Career, Education, and Capacity Development (CAREERS)
This transformation reflects a broader vision: supporting people not only in their careers, but also in their education, lifelong learning, personal growth, and capacity to thrive in a changing world.
Through research, collaboration, and community engagement, CAREERS aims to contribute to a future in which more young people face uncertainty not with fear, but with confidence, resilience, and hope.
