Predoctoral Fellow / Research Assistant
zacky.pratama@uib.no
Zacky is a Predoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism. He holds a master’s degree in Business Analytics from BI Norwegian Business School.
Education
- Master of Science in Business Analytics (BI Norwegian Business School, Norway).
- Bachelor of Business Administration (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan).
Get to know Zacky
What are you working on right now?
I mostly work with 41 countries survey data from the CPS-WORLD project, perform data analyses and have been involved in papers from the data. I also work on other quantitative analyses tasks from other datasets, administrative tasks such as updating and posting the website and social media, etc.
What does a typical day for you look like?
Start the day with coffee (and breakfast from nearby shop if I have not had one before leaving home), work until around 1 to 2 PM (coffees in between), going for lunch, get back to work (perhaps if another cup of coffee is needed, then it shall be there), done around 4 or 5 PM, head back home directly or coffee shop if I felt like wanting to be productive after-work.
Would you rather brainstorm in silence or with background music, and why?
I think I generally tend to brainstorm with background music (usually upbeat music) because usually it feels like my brain is working properly. If I need a bit more focus, background music with no lyrics are go-to preferences. However, there are also instances where I am so “locked in” in my brainstorming process that I completely stop the music and it’s just my brain making the noises.
What language would you like to be fluent in if you could magically do that, and why?
It’s hard to choose only one language here, so I will list them: 1) Minangkabau language (local language from Indonesia), because it is the native language of the region that my mother’s family originated from; 2) Mandarin, because skipping learning the tones and characters is always nice; 3) Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk), because I live here and just want to start talking without translating words and sentences in my mind first.
How do you usually celebrate small wins at work?
Purchasing sweets and coffees, take a walk in Bryggen and/or local parks (if Bergen’s weather permits), and enjoy the rest of the day relaxing at home.
Any particular song that you would like to share with the world to listen to, and why?
This may be a recency bias since this may be a song I have been playing in repeat these days, but it is going to be “Berharap Tak Berpisah” by Reza Artamevia. It is a 2002 Indonesian disco pop song, a genre which I have been listening to lately. I think people should start listening to Indonesian disco pop genre.
What are you listening to these days?
Aside from my answer on the top, I listen to various genres of music and artists (7,170 Liked Songs in Spotify, may include duplicates, per 29 September 2025) and often play in shuffle. But if I am allowed to have this question as a place to suggest an artist, it would be: Sakurazaka46 (Japanese girl-group that often has songs with critics on social issues while having unique dance performances). Their 13th single is coming up this October!
Updated Autumn 2025