Australia Awards in Indonesia

The Australia Awards are prestigious, transformational scholarships and short courses offered to emerging leaders for study, research and professional development in Australia

Alumni Grants Scheme 2015

AGS Past Project

The 2015 International Conference on Mathematics, its Applications, and Mathematics Education (ICMAME 2015) is the implementation of our project “International Conference on Science and Education: ANUGA Software for Flood Mitigation in Indonesia”. The conference theme is still ANUGA Software for flood mitigation in Indonesia. We sincerely thank Australia Awards Indonesia Alumni Grant Scheme 2015 for sponsoring our project.

Two Australian experts would be the main speakers; they are Prof Stephen Roberts from the Australian National University (ANU) and Prof Lutz Gross from the University of Quensland. They also accompanied by several additional speakers.

ANUGA is a software developed by Australian National University (ANU) and Geoscience Australia (GA) for flood simulations. This ANUGA knowledge from Australia will be helpful for Indonesia, because Indonesia, especially the capital city Jakarta, is prone to flooding. This project will give great benefits for Indonesia, as scientists and engineers can learn and share knowledge between Australia and Indonesia for flood disaster mitigation

The project has been managed by Mr. Sudi Mungkasi, Mr. Hartono, and Mr. Tarsisius Sarkim. Below are the short bio of the team members;

Sudi Mungkasi, Ph.D. has joined the Department of Mathematics, Sanata Dharma University as a lecturer since 2005. He received the Sarjana Sains (B.Sc.) degree in mathematics from Gadjah Mada University in 2004. He then received the Master of Mathematical Sciences degree from The Australian National University (ANU) in 2008. He pursued a Ph.D. at the ANU started February 2009 and submitted the thesis in September 2012, then directly took a postdoctoral fellow position at the ANU until August 2013. The Ph.D. degree itself was awarded on 19 March 2013. He obtained achievements, such as that he was the highest GPA (3.92) holder among 1,107 graduates in the 18 May 2004 Gadjah Mada University graduation ceremony.  Further  achievements in Sudi’s careeer:  he was the best presenter and the best paper writer in the International Conference on Advanced Computer Science and Information Systems (ICACSIS) 2011, and that he was an outstanding lecturer in Sanata Dharma University for years 2011, 2013 and 2014. His research interests include mathematical modelling and computer simulation for the environment.

Hartono, Ph.D. is a lecturer at Department of Mathematics, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta.  He got B.Sc. in Mathematics  from Department of Mathematics, Gadjah Mada University in 1996.  In 1999, he received a scholarship from Twente University, The Netherland to follow Bridging Programme in Applied Mathematics at ITB, Bandung. From 2001 to 2003 he studied for Master degree in Industrial Mathematics at Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, sponsored by DAAD (German Academic Exchange). Soon after graduation, he became Head of Mathematics Department, Sanata Dharma University from 2004 to 2007.  In 2006, DAAD sponsored him to take a part in Summer School organized by Department of Mathematics, Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Germany.  From 2008 to 2012 he was a Ph.D. student in Applied Mathematics at the University of Western Australia under ADS (Australian Development Scholarship) scheme. Since 2014 he has been Head of Department of Mathematics , Sanata Dharma University. His main research interests is in the area of Applied Mathematics in particular Optimization, Computational Mathematics, Optimal Control and their applications.

Tarsisius Sarkim, Ph.D. is currently the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs of Sanata Dharma University. He has joined Sanata Dharma University since 1988 as a lecturer at the Department of Physics Education. He received the Ph.D. degree in Science and Mathematics Education from The University of Melbourne in 2005. His research interests include pedagogical content knowledge and models in the teaching and learning of physics

The research project is focusing on comparatively studying and examining the causes and consequences of institutional corruption affecting the reforming of the three different branches or institutions of the Indonesia government: the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive.

Since the fall of the Suharto’s authoritarian New Order regime in 1998, the reform governments have adopted some measures to democratize and reform these three pillars of government. Such reforms are designed to institutionalize good governance principles in the management and decision-making processes of these three democratic institutions.

However, as the reform indicators have shown, the government has been perceived as corrupt, distrusted and ineffective in making and delivering public policies. Having empirically investigated and comparatively examined the nature, causes and impacts of institutional corruption on the integrity, capacity and credibility of the three pillars of the government’s democratic institutions, the study will then recommend theoretical and policy solutions to prevent and remedy institutional corruption in Indonesia democratic and political governance.

Roby Arya Brata finished his Ph.D. studies in public policy and governance at the Australian National University in 2011. His Ph.D. research was on anticorruption policy implementation/anticorruption law enforcement in Indonesia. A graduate in international law from Padjadjaran University, Indonesia, in 1992, he then completed his two master degrees: Master of Laws or LLM, with Honours in 1997; and Master of Public Policy or MPP, with A- for the thesis in 1998, both from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Prior to pursuing his Ph.D. studies, he was a senior government official, acting as Head of Constitutional and Administrative Legal Division at the Cabinet Secretariat of the Office of the President of Indonesia.  He was formerly a legal professional analyst at the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights. Under the Abdurrachman Wahid administration, he was nominated as a deputy to the Presidential Secretary for Government Policy Implementation and Monitoring. In 2008, he was an acting Assistant to Head of the Presidential Working Unit for Government Program and Reform Management.

A part-time lecturer at universities in Indonesia, including University of Indonesia and Djuanda University, and with more than 20-year working experience in legal and policy analysis, he was invited as a guest lecturer in anti-corruption at the Australian National University, and in politics and human rights at the University of Sydney in Australia. He attended various overseas training and courses on nuclear energy policy, intellectual property rights, public management and accountability, and anti-corruption. He was a speaker at various international conferences on law and anti-corruption. He writes more than 70 articles on politics, governance, public policy, anti-corruption, human rights, and legal issues in national and international journals and books, local and national newspapers and a magazine such as Jakarta Post and Tempo magazine―a leading political magazine in Indonesia. His articles on anti-corruption and governance have been the most read and uploaded in “1,000,000 Facebookers Movement against the Court Mafia.” He has published three books on good governance and anti-corruption, including one titled “Why Did Anti-corruption Policy Fail? A Study of Anti-corruption Policy Implementation Failure in Indonesia”, published by Information Age Publishing Inc, North Carolina, USA, (2014). In 2000, he was awarded as the first prize winner of a national essay writing competition organized by the Indonesian Intellectual Property Society and the Indonesian Association for Scientific Writers; and in 2010 International Human Resources Development Foundation honored him as “Leading Figure for Indonesia Development”.  Through very competitive selection process, Roby has been selected as a strong candidate Commissioner for Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission 2014 – 2018.

Number of elderly in Indonesia is increasing considering the increase in life span due to decreased mortality at early ages. So far there are no comprehensive services for elderly in Indonesia, and the attention is still on infectious diseases affecting young people.

 A recent study by Trisakti University researchers and North Kalimantan Health Department found that elderly health services at primary care centres need much improvement in terms of access and quality. There is a need for human resource development and to define programs for healthy ageing. To reorient the health system for it to be ready for increasing need of elderly healthcare, improvements are needed in terms of human resource development, education and health promotion for the communities, and well planned services ready for the health issues affecting elderly.

This project provides an excellent opportunity to further strengthen links between the Kalimantan, Tarakan Health District Department, University of Adelaide, Trisakti University and the specialists at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

 

 

 

The project is managed by Dr. Rina Kusumaratna(Head of Ageing Research Centre, University of Trisakti) and involving Dr. Bruno Franchii (Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia, Dr. M Afzal Mahmood  (Senior Lecturer, The University of Adelaide), and Prof. Peng Bi (Professor, The University of Adelaide).

Dr.Rina K. Kusumaratna works as a faculty member in the Department of Community Medicine & Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Trisakti University. Besides teaching, She is coordinator for community health research, especially in gerontology and public health conducted by Centre of Population and Health Studies, Trisakti University, the Aging Research Centre (ARC), Faculty of Medicine, and under her supervision by young medical doctors while doing their internship in Public Health.  She has received several scholarships and research fundings from the Indonesian government to conduct research and from the Australian government for professional training to develop research among older persons. She also has good networking with colleagues in the Department of Geriatrics and Rehabilitation, Royal Adelaide Hospital for the study of older persons, and collaborative research with the Discipline of Public Health, University of Adelaide, for maternal health and management issues for East Kalimantan and Tarakan in Indonesia.

The use of performance-based contracting (PBC) on roads has gained popularity world-wide. In theory, because of the long-term relationship between an owner and a contractor, the implementation of this method will provide additional benefits for the government/public. Private sector involvement in financing public infrastructure through the use of PBC on roads should be scrutinized by policy makers regarding its benefits.

The uses of PBC on Indonesian roads have just recently been introduced via two pilot projects initiated by the Directorate General of Bina Marga, Ministry of Public Works of Indonesia. While policy makers have been considering to expand the use of PBC roads nationally, a study to explore the value-for-money for such projects is needed.

Australia has implemented PBC on roads since 1990s. Among the states which have implemented PBCs are New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Southern Australia, and Western Australia. Lessons learned from Australia experiences will be acquired through discussions with experts and academicians. The results will be disseminated in a conference (co-authored with Australian counterpart), incorporated in contract administration course at ITB, and recommended to the Ministry of PW.

The project is managed by Dr Reini Wirahadikusumah (Associate Professor, Institute Technology of  Bandung) and involving Dr. Vaughan Coffey, Lecturer, School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Reini D. Wirahadikusumah is an Associate Professor in School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institute Technologi of Bandung. She finished her Bachelor from Institute Technologi of Bandung majoring Structureal Engineering, than Master and PhD from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, focussing on Infrastructure Management System.

Dr Vaughan Coffey lectures in Construction and Project Management at the School of Urban Development, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia and prior to taking up the post in September 2006 was the Senior Manager/Procurement in the Development and Procurement Division of the Hong Kong Housing Department, where he worked since 1982.

In 1998, he was awarded a Master of Science degree in Quality Management from the University of Paisley, United Kingdom. He has regularly lectured across the world on construction and project management topics and has been involved in MSc courses for aspiring construction/project managers on behalf of Hong Kong University and Bath University, UK.

Dr Coffey completed his Doctorate of Business Administration in 2005 with the Graduate School of Business, Curtin University, Australia and completed a doctoral thesis entitled “The Organisational Culture and Effectiveness of Companies involved in Public Sector Housing Construction in Hong Kong”. He was Vice-president of the Hong Kong Institute of Value Management (HKIVM) and a Co-Director of the HKIVM International Value Conference held in June 2005, and Director of the 2006 HKIVM Asia-Pacific Value Conference jointly hosted with IVM Australia.

ARG Health leads by Edwin Widodo, a lecturer of Faculty of Medicine-Brawijaya University. Edwin Widodo has studied his Master of Science by research (M.Sc.) and Ph.D. at the University of Melbourne, researching sub-genetic changes in breast cancer cells.  As a researcher in the field of cancer, Edwin is very passionate about health-related research.  He would like to maximize the potential of alumni through ARG to accelerate the progress in all health-related sectors in Indonesia. Edwin is convinced that by working together alumni can implement the ideas to maximize the participation and contribute for the benefits of health sector in Indonesia and across the globe.

Roosmalawati Rusman is a senior lecturer in the field of social health. She was a chairperson for Social and Humanities Committee at the National Research Council of Indonesia and a chairperson of the Australia Award Alumni Reference Group (ARG) for the previous term.

Grace Monica Halim actively participates as a program officer of HIV-AIDS at International Labour Organization (ILO).

Susy Katikana Sebayang, an alumnus of University of Sydney, is affiliated with SUMMIT Institute Development and actively promotes tobacco reduction via Tobacco Control.

Mutiara Tirta Prabandari Lintang Kusuma is a lecturer and nutritionist based at Gadjah Mada University.

Olivia Amelia Waworuntu is a lecturer of Faculty of Medicine at University of Sam Ratulangi-Manado with interest in primary care and microbiology. 

Desak Ketut Ernawati is a lecturer of Faculty of Medicine at Udhayana University-Denpasar.

Ralalicia Limato, a medical doctor, possesses a degree of Master of Public Health and Graduate Diploma of Health Nutrition from Flinders University.

Rizanna Rosemary is a senior lecturer at University of Syiah Kuala Aceh and an active researcher for the Centre for Tobacco Control Studies (CTCS) Aceh, ITRA and the ITCN.  She completed her master degree in Health Communication from University of Sydney. Her research interest is media studies in health-related issues, especially in tobacco and smoking control.

Martina Sinta Kristanti has nursing management backgrounds and has obtained her degree of Master of Nursing from Monash University.

Inge Dhamanti, a lecturer from Airlangga University, has her Master of Public Health degree from La Trobe University.

Wahyu Nawang Wulan, with a degree of Master of Science from University of Canberra, has an interest in microbiology.

 Vinci Mizranita is a lecturer and a pharmacist with a degree of Master of Pharmacy (Clinical Pharmacy) from Curtin University of Technology.

 Ratna Linarto, a clinical educator, has a degree from University of Western Australia.

Sudirman Nasir, a lecturer of Faculty of Public Health of Hasanuddin. He is an active writer of health-related issues, with his interests in the field of medical anthropology, youth helath, risk-taking behaviours and social context of infectious diseases particularly HIV and STIs. He has been involved in HIV-prevention programs in South Sulawesi since mid-1990s.

Si Luh Nyoman Alit Nuryani. a clinical nurse educator coordinator at Sanglah Hospital-Denpasar, Bali. She is also awarded an alumni grant scheme project to build research capacity of health personnel at Sanglah Hospital via collaboration with School of Health, Charles Darwin University.

 Indonesia has started a new scheme on national health insurance. With the current improvement delivered by the new government, named the National Health Insurance Program (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional/JKN), the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), and the Indonesian Health Card (Kartu Indonesia Sehat/KIS), the scheme of national health insurance has more health coverage. With these current changes, health practitioners are having difficulties in understanding the scope of implementing health services for public. By comparing the implementation of health insurance in more developed countries, health practitioners can provide better health service for our community. In addition, with monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of national health insurance at participant's hospitals, we can provide inputs for related departments for better health service.

After participating in the seminar about recent changes in national health insurance, health administrators and health practitioners at public and private hospitals can implement international standard for public health service within the range of health national insurance. Participants could also better evaluate the downside of limited health insurance scope and provide suggestions and solutions for problems identified in implementing national health insurance at their hospitals.

This project will benefit health practitioners, as there is lack of information regarding the new scheme of national health insurance. With better implementation of national health insurance, the society will get benefits with healthier life. Our Australian Alumni Reference Group (ARG) members are health practitioners with expertise in health services obtained from trainings and education in Indonesia and Australia.

The project implemented by ARG Health consists of 16 members with various interests in the field of health, ranging from public health until clinical practices. Public health concerns have many interesting fields, related with interest of ARG Health members, including public health services, tobacco prevention, and prevention of infectious diseases, hygiene, health nutrition and medical research.

 

 

Makassar Interpreter Training (MINT Initiative) is a pioneer project aims to enhance the capacity of interpreters in the Eastern part of Indonesia. With its initial pilot project area in Makassar, this project will select qualified interpreters in Makassar and surrounding area to be trained in a series of intensive training activities to provide them with sufficient qualifications of consecutive and simultaneous interpretations. 

This initiative is a response toward the continuously increasing demand of high quality interpreters in various meetings, conferences and seminars in Makassar as a hub of the Eastern part of Indonesia, as well as other similar events in the Eastern part of Indonesia. While the supply of local-based interpreters are adequate, the tendency of users (donors, international organizations, multinational companies, government, etc.) utilizing the services of local based interpreters are still low due to the limited capacity of the interpreters.

Having this project implemented, not only it will strengthen the capacity of local-based interpreters, it will also open more job opportunities and increase the market competitiveness of interpreters in Makassar and surrounding areas.

 The project is led by Marlisa Wahyuningsih Soepeno as Co-Founder and Trainer of MINT. She is a Foreign Service Officer at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is also the official interpreter to the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo and the First Lady, Iriana Joko Widodo.  Marlisa holds a Bachelor degree in Economics from Hasanuddin University, Makassar and she obtained a double Master’s degree in Public Policy and Diplomacy from the Australian National University in 2014. In her capacity as an Australian Awards Alumni, she joined the Alumni Reference Group of Poverty Reduction, Disadvantaged Area and Post-Conflict Regions cluster. She is also the Founder of Makassar Interpreter Training (MINT) Initiative, a program funded by Alumni Grant Scheme aimed at enhancing the capacity and improving the livelihood of local-based interpreters in the Eastern Part of Indonesia.

Saifuddin Suaib as Co-Founder and Trainer of MINT, also known as Cipu, is currently serving USAID Indonesia Clean Energy Development (ICED) II Project as the Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS) Specialist. Apart from his passion in environment and energy sectors, Cipu has also a strong interest in interpreting and has been exposed to various interpreting experiences. He started his career as an interpreter for JICA Makassar Field Office and UN FAO Avian Influenza Control Program. He hopes that MINT could provide knowledge as well as opportunities for its participants.

Mochammad Iqbal Sirie (Trainer of MINT) is a Foreign Service Officer at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is also the official interpreter to the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo and the First Lady, Iriana Joko Widodo. Iqbal graduated with Faculty of Law, Padjajaran University and obtained his Master of Laws (majoring in International Economics Law from University of Edinburgh in 2013.  Iqbal’s commitment to contribute to the country as well as his exposure to various high level and international meetings are reasons why Iqbal put high interest in MINT Program. He hopes that MINT will eventually open the opportunities and enhance the capacity of local-based interpreters in the eastern part of Indonesia.

Inanti Pinintakasih Diran (Trainer of MINT) is a lecturer and trainer in interpreting in Faculty of Humanities, University of Indonesia. She also provided interpreter courses for some of the Ministries in Indonesia, among others are, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Industries. Inanti is also Marlisa and Iqbal’s mentor. Being a professional Indonesia-English interpreter for more than 16 years, Inanti has traveled across the globe to provide the interpreting service in various summits and international events. Her involvement as a trainer in MINT Initiative is derived from her strong passion to proliferate and assist the capacity development of local-based interpreters in the eastern part of Indonesia.

 

 

In 2013 Ms. Rahayu Yosep Paulus secured a research grant (US$14,971) from IIED as part of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN), a Rockefeller Foundation-funded programme in 10 cities across four Asian countries (India, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia) to develop and implement strategies to build urban climate change resilience.

Two papers were produced that focused on understanding what knowledge local planners at city, regional, and provincial levels have regarding climate change adaptation (CCA), and what informs their perceptions and understanding. Six main themes were investigated: their perception of climate change impacts on local communities; the level of CCA policy development; the extent of CCA mainstreaming in the development agendas of local governments; the level of planning for CCA; local planner capacity development; perceptions on functional title for planners to enhance capacity building. The findings were derived from the perspectives and insights of 26 local planners, working for local governments from seven different Indonesian coastal cities. They included Baubau, Banda Aceh, Padang, Bantul/Jogjakarta, Mataram, Palu, and Jayapura.

Titled "Perspectives of planners on adaptation to climate change in Indonesia" and "Capacity development for local planners for climate change adaptation policy development", these papers never been presented in any conferences. The first paper was only published in a working paper mode, freely available at: http://pubs.iied.org/10704IIED.html. Also it has been submitted to Urban Climate Journal to be included in the SI: Urban Adaptation Capacity 2015.

Education

  1. PhD: 2008-2013

Griffith School of the Environment and School of Public Policy and Governance, Griffith University, Australia. Thesis titled: ‘Policy Development for Effective Transitions to Climate Change: adaptation at the Indonesian local government level’, focusing on sectoral coordination and capacity building.

  1. Master of Environmental Science (MEnvSc): 2004 – 2006

School of Resources, Environment and Society (SRES) at the Australian National University (ANU), Australia.

  1. Master of Science (MSc):1998 – 2000

Information Technology for Natural Resources Management, majoring in Geographic  Information System (GIS) – Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia.

Employment

  • Project Implementation of Paper presentation at the CFCC Conference: The International Scientific Conference “Our Common Future under Climate Change” took place at UNESCO (Paris), 7-10 July 2015.
  • July 2014 till now: Lecturer and Researcher at Universitas Dayanu Ikhsanuddin (Unidayan) Baubau. Coordinator of environmental studies section at centre for research and community services - LPPM, Unidayan Baubau.
  • June 2014 till now: Senior Planner at Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia.
  • June 2013-August 2014: Consultant of IIED (International Institutions for Environment and Development - The Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN), a Rockefeller Foundation funded programme in 10 cities across four Asian countries (India, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia) to develop and implement strategies to build urban climate change resilience.
  • November 2012-Mei 2014: Senior Planner and Head of Agribusiness and Industry Section at Bappeda of Kendari City, Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia.

Dafri Agussalim is senior lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Universitas Gadjah Mada. His research interest includes Australian Politics and Foreign Policy, International Security, Human Rights, Humanitarian and Peace Studies.  He earned his Master of Arts degree from The Australia National University, Australia in 1995, after he completed non-degree program in political science, at the Ohio State University, USA in 1991. He graduated from Universitas Gadjah Mada in 1987 and received his bachelor degree in political science. Dafri has participated in various professional and academic activities. He is enlisted as a co-founder of several professional organizations, such as Indonesian Association of International Relations and Indonesian Association for Australian Studies.

Atin Prabandari is lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Universitas Gadjah Mada and also fellow researcher in ASEAN Studies Center and Southeast Asia Social Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada. She obtained her Master of Arts in International Relations (Hon) degree from School of Politics, International and Strategic Studies, The Australia National University, Australia in 2010 with her thesis entitled ‘The Dynamic of Islamic Humanitarian Organization in Contemporary International Relations: Case Study Islamic Relief and IIROSA’. She earned her first degree in International Relations from Universitas Gadjah Mada. Atin Prabandari is an expert in humanitarian diplomacy, human rights, and Australian politics. She is currently the Manager of Global Engagement Office, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada.

Hangga Fathana is lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Universitas Islam Indonesia. His areas of expertise include Australian politics and its relations with the wider Southeast Asia region, global political economy, politics of trade, and Southeast Asian foreign economic policies. He received his Master degree in International Relations from Universitas Gadjah Mada in 2013 after obtaining Bachelor degree in Political Science from Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta in 2011. He earned his Bachelor degree in International Studies from the School of Political and International Studies, Flinders University of South Australia, in 2009. Besides being an active board of Indonesian Association for International Political Economy since 2013, Hangga is also serving as the Director of Marketing, Partnership, and Alumni Affairs at Universitas Islam Indonesia.

Convention on Australian Studies (CAS) 2015 on May 20-21 invited 200 seminar participants and 30 workshop participants coming from various universities throughout the country. During the event, the participants involved actively and demonstrated interactive discussion, creating stronger awareness on the importance of Australian studies, not only for the academic aspect, but also for the practical aspect, especially in building a better relationship between Indonesia and Australia.

At the end of the workshop, the participants also agreed to conduct the convention on annual basis. They also agreed to create Indonesian Association for Australian Studies. The CAS 2016 will take place in the University of Airlangga.

Following the creation of Indonesian Association for Australian Studies, the association has agreed to create programs in the near future; these include academic collaborations in maximizing Australian Studies in Indonesia. Some activities that will be conducted are joint research, joint curriculum, etc.

This convention has met its objective, as it has refreshed the knowledge and skills of the lecturers in Australian Politics and Government and or Australian Foreign Policy, so the teaching process of the subjects has become more effective, efficient, relevant and up to date.

The project was coordinated by Mr. Dafri Agussalim, with support of his colleagues Ms. Atin Prabandari and Mr. Hangga Fathana of the Universitas Gadjah Mada.

RSUP Sanglah(Sanglah Hospital) and Udayana University provide leadership in health care and health care research across Eastern Indonesia as well as Timor Leste. Both organisations need to build research capacity to improve health care services and practices.

The project objective is to develop a program of research that will assist participants to become eligible to apply for PhD programs within both Indonesia and Australia. Key staff from Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar Bali, and key academics from Udayana University will participate in a workshop run by senior academic staff from Charles Darwin University (CDU). The goal is to build research capacity (so as to improve health care outcomes) and to develop a longer term relationship between key participants in Bali and staf at CDU.

Siluh Nyoman Alit Nuryani, She was Graduated from Polytechnic Health Department taking major of DIII Nursing in 1998. She was recruited as public employee at Sanglah General Hospital in 1999 where I started to work in emergency unit. She was involved in the care of patient during catastrophic events of Bali bombing in 2002 and 2005. She was trained for trauma life support and other emergency courses.  Then I continue to apply for scholarship to go to Australia. She received as Australia Awardees and continued her Bachelor of Nursing Conversion and continuing my master of nursing in the same university which was University of Wollongong New South Wales. Upon returning from Australia, She was becoming Nurse Unit Manager in Medical Surgical Ward, with her specialization is orthopedic care in nursing.  Her passion with teaching and learning then she was appointed by Sanglah Hospital as coordinator program for clinical nurse educator. At the moment, she works for quality assurance at Sanglah hospital. She also involved in some research supervision and lecturer for students at Udayana University and Nursing School in Denpasar Bali.

Putu Ayu Indrayanthi was graduated Master of Nursing from University Of Wollongong completed in 2009. She is actively involved in HIPMI BALI (Indonesian Nurse Manager Association) as secretary. She works in Sanglah General Hospital as quality assurance staff.

Sandra Dunn is Professor of Health, Clinical Practice at Charles Darwin University, where she coordinates the Master of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) course.  Her role includes teaching postgraduate nursing, curriculum development and quality assurance, postgraduate supervision and research.  Her research includes workforce models, multidisciplinary professional development and education, clinical practice, curriculum development and quality assurance. 

Di Brown is a Professor of Nursing with a national and international reputation in nursing leadership and nursing education. She has extensive experience as both a clinician and academic. Di has built her reputation around effectively leading and managing change in a variety of settings. She has undertaken consultancies with organisations such as WHO, the World Bank, AusAID and various universities within and outside of Australia. She is a Professorial Fellow at Charles Darwin University and a Visiting Professor of the University of Indonesia. She currently manages a large health care development project in Indonesia. Di’s passion is working with clinicians and health care leaders to assist them in managing changes to practice. In 2015 she was became an Officer (AO) in the General Division in the Order of Australia Honours which was awarded for distinguished service over many years to nursing through the delivery of quality care, professional development and nursing education, and to the international advancement of the profession throughout Asia and the South Pacific.

Professor Marilynne N Kirshbaum obtained a BSc Nursing and Anthropology from New York University and her MSc and PhD from Manchester University in the United Kingdom, where she has been living for the past 30 years.  Her thesis investigated the dissemination of research evidence to breast care nurses.  She has since continued to advance the evidence base and improve the patient experience within cancer and palliative care.  Her current research focuses on the complexities of fatigue and well-being from a theoretical, behavioral, multi-cultural, social and therapeutic energy perspective. Marilynne has a broad range of research experience that includes both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and has much experience in supervising research students at postgraduate level. She has also written extensively in peer-reviewed academic journals.

 

Eating white rice regularly on a regular basis may increase diabetes risk. In Indonesia, where the majority eats rice three-times a day, reducing rice from the menu is a tall order. The Banjar ethnic and native of South Kalimantan people love their local rice called Siam Unus, mostly because of its distinct taste and according to them it is not as fluffy like others. Siam Unus rice is regarded as high-quality rice and predictably: the most favourite grain.

Alia Rahmi (35) is an Australia Awards Indonesia alumnus who is leading a project on finding a viable variant of white rice which may contain lower carbohydrate and glucose. Upon her returned, Alia,  who graduated in 2012 from the University of New South Wales,  is now a lecturer in Universitas Lambung Mangkurat Kalimantan. Her interest in local Banjar rice emerged while working on research for Master’s thesis focusing on post-harvest system analysis of paddy production in South Kalimantan. The task provided her the chance to have a first-hand experience on how local Banjar rice is handled and how it has a considerably one of the highest position among rice varieties traded in South Kalimantan and favoured by local consumers there.

Under the Australia Grant Scheme (AGS) Round 2 project, Alia along with her two Australia Awards alumni colleagues from Indonesia and Vietnam, will investigate the effect of various preparation techniques of Siam Unus Rice. They will look into its amylose content, resistant starch content, fat and protein content, starch properties, carbohydrate digestibility and glycemic index. She hopes her in-depth research on preparation techniques will find ways to reduce Type 2 diabetes and control blood glucose levels for the sake of healthier community.

Malaria is one of the world’s most common and serious tropical diseases, with half the world’s population at risk of being infected with malaria

Rintis, graduated PhD in molecular biology from the University of Melbourne in 2004, has spent many years studying malaria in the laboratory at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne. She studied parasite biology especially in relation to parasite gene expression and its phenotypic variation and she became interested more on how the parasites can cause diseases in infected individuals. It strikes her to explore further on how the immune mechanisms associated with protection from malaria infection. Rintis, seeks to investigate further on both the parasites and the host to determine whether immunity to malaria maintains the low level Parasitemia so it does not cause sickness to the host. She hopes her research could be used as the basis for development of the future treatment for malaria.

Upon her return to Indonesia, with her background as a biomedical research scientist focusing on molecular biology, she has been involved in malaria elimination program in Indonesia through active research on the subject. Rintis hopes that the current project on Malaria Research funded by the Australia Grant Scheme (AGS) Round 2 will improve her knowledge through links with Australian scientists.  She determines to increase Institutional profile of Eijkman Institute through scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals, Eijkman research program, as well as maintaining a dynamic collaboration between scientists from the two countries.

Examination in cases of sexual violence both in men and women, victims or suspects, living or dead, is one of the toughest examinations in the field of medicine. Olivia’s passion for humanity has brought her to become a medical doctor. She obtained Master of Public Health (Tropical Health) from The University of Queensland in December 2011 under Australia Awards Scholarships. Currently she works as a Lecturer in Faculty of Medicine at Sam Ratulangi University in eastern Indonesia since 2007 in the field of Clinical Microbiology.  Outside the university, she also works in Microbiology Laboratory in Prof. Dr. R.D. Kandou General Hospital Manado, one of the highly regarded National Referral Hospitals in eastern part of Indonesia and a Teaching Hospital as well.

Her project highlights a social concern in dealing with sexual assault cases in North Sulawesi province.  So far, there are no clear guidelines for the practitioners including health care professionals and law enforcement officers in Indonesia to appropriately respond to victims and crime. The project members come from various backgrounds, including medical forensic, obstetry-ginecology, biology, biomedicine, biochemistry, parasitology and public health. They will share their expertise in a workshop to participants from health, women empowerment and law sectors. In this project, which is funded by Alumni Grant Scheme, Olivia and her colleagues from Sam Ratulangi University plan to develop standard protocols for sexual assault medical examinations and its application in health care centres, which remains unavailable in Indonesia. She hopes the project will act as a reference for further study and more importantly to become standard protocol used nationally.

 

 

In Indonesia, challenges to gender equality remain high despite countless efforts. Women across Indonesia still face discrimination and injustice. Far more needs to be done particularly on women empowerment and protection.

Rosita Tandos, graduated with Master degree majoring Community Development from Curtin University of Technology under Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) in 2007 was inspired by her study in Australia to change existing policies, programs and services available for communities in her home region, Cirebon, West Java. Currently as the Head of Center for Gender and Children Studies (PSGA) at the Sate Islamic Institute (IAIN) Syekh Nurjati, Cirebon – West Java, Rosita has conducted some studies, and actively has written numerous articles on Gender Equality and Justice particularly on issues such as violence against women, prostitutions in Indonesia, and protection and empowerment of female migrant domestic workers.

With the fund of Alumni Grant Scheme, Rosita plans to work with a group of women from Indramayu district – West Java province. Indramayu is one of the largest sources of migrant workers in Indonesia and most of them are women seeking employment abroad. Rosita aims to offer an alternative choice for those women who want to stop working as domestic or migrant workers. Financial education will be taught to migrant workers to spark entrepreneurship at home.  Those women will be trained to develop a home-based industry, a small business or other economic activities so they are able to improve their economic conditions and help support their families.

Education is basic human rights. Every child deserves to have the best possible education, even in prison. However this right is sometimes denied for juvenile prisoners. According to Devy Arfiana, who graduated with Master of Public Policy (Economic Policy), from Australian National University, the situation in hometown in Palembang is alarming. After she graduated from Canberra-based university in 2013, Devy who works as a staff at Accounting and Financial Reporting Division at the DG Treasury Regional Office in South Sumatera province, wants to change that paradigm. Devy along with Palembang Prison for Children have set up a formal school in the detention centre. It is Indonesia’s first formal school in jail. She believes juveniles must be given their right that is to continue their education - a relevant one and prepares them for life and work in the future.

 Devy wishes for these children to have a better chance later in life and earning a diploma would be a historic step for them. The project, funded, by Australia Grant Scheme, is also a plea to the Indonesian government to pay more attention to the education system and in turn it will boost the nation’s productivity and its economy.

The rising rate of farmland conversion in the fringe area of Yogyakarta Special Province poses a threat to food security. Noor Alifa Ardianingrum, an Australia Awards Indonesia alumnus and an eager environmentalist wants to curb the current conversion rate to avoid dramatic escalation.

After completing her study in 2014 from The University of Melbourne earning a Master of Environment degree, she returned to Indonesia and became involved in local food network called ‘Jejaring Pangan Lokal’.  She also initiated a kick-starter project named ‘Padepokan Pemuda Pemudi’ aimed to be a youth-hub providing a learning space for young people. On top of everything, Noor is also a social Specialist for The Forest Trust (TFT) and volunteering as a researcher for BISA Indonesia and Social Conservation Indonesia (SCI).

To ensure sustainable food security, Noor together with eight of her colleagues and friends, plans to set up a larger and stronger local food network in the near future.

Plants have been a great source for developing medicines to cure many ailments in the world. Studies suggest that consuming foods and beverages rich in phytochemical or natural compound may help prevent disease. Tisha Rumbewas wants to make a study of powerhouse list of traditional medicinal plants of the native people in Kurudu island in Papua.

Tisha, an Australia Awards Indonesia alumnus, is conducting a research to list powerhouse plants and introduce its medicinal purpose to the Papuan people.  She believes it will be an effective and reliable campaign to preserve nature and traditional medicinal knowledge in her hometown. Tisha started the project after earning a Master degree of Science from the University of Wollongong in 2014. Currently Tisha is the Director of SAGU Foundation, a local NGO which is committed to assist the Government of Papua in developing human resources in Papua. Apart from her active role in the community work, she is also an ELTA Master Trainer for ELTA Papua-Papua Barat 2015. ELTA is an DFAT funded program, held in five targeted areas in Indonesia, including Papua and Papua Barat.

A committed and experienced educator, Mokhammad Iksan, has dedicated his life in promoting education in rural area in Malang, East Java. He is an Australia Awards alumnus who graduated with PhD in Economic Growth from Melbourne-based Monash University in 2007. Iksan believes that in learning process teachers play a crucial role to facilitate children to learn. When leaders educational institutions are missing a visionary outlook, efforts to improve competencies in teacher would not exist. A key ingredient to maintain quality of education.

Iksan joined an Australia’s Education Partnership with Indonesia program in 2012. He assisted a program in providing direct support to 1,500 Madrasah - private Islamic schools to reach national accreditation. He is also the founder of an Education Quality Improvement Consortium in rural area in Malang, East Java, where he supported four schools to become a self-sufficient and sustainable school.

His latest achievement at the Education Quality Improvement Consortium, brought Iksan to support targeted schools of the Consortium using the Australia Grant Scheme funding. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the existing Consortium through provision trainings and mentoring activities for primary schools for better education.

Among Indonesia’s population of 230 million, 38.7 million still live in poverty line, according to United Nations data in 2010. A group of members from the Alumni Reference Group of Poverty Reduction cluster lead by Dhian Kusumawardhani is deeply concerned toward poverty reduction policy programs that have been implemented by the government but remain ineffective to reduce the poverty line in Indonesia.  Dhiani graduated from Flinders Public Policy and Management (FIPPM) in 2003, with degree in Master of Public Management. Previously, she had conducted preliminary research for empowering the small and medium enterprises through technology capacity building program in several villages in West Java and East Java at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI); the organisation where she has worked for 15 years.

The ARG team of Poverty Reduction wants to propose a model of accelerating poverty reduction strategies by combining human development and income-generating approaches in two poor villages in Ponorogo (Krisik and Sidohardjo) in East Java. Both villages have contrasting economic conditions but they may be able to support each other in reducing the level of poverty based on their own strengths and needs.  Dhiani and her team will apply capacity-building efforts for both villages in order to create income-generating activities such as school-for-milk program and women participation in selling yoghurt and pasteurized milk into commercial market. In the long run, the project is expected to decrease poverty rate in the area.

 

Kamaludin is a senior lecturer in Linguistics and English Education at the School of Education, Mataram University, Lombok, in eastern Indonesia. He graduated with a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics at the School of English, Linguistics and Media from Macquarie University and graduated in February 1998 and with the same scholarship he obtained a PhD degree in Applied Linguistics at The University of Sydney Australia in 2005.

 

Language teacher education and in applied linguistics have always been his research interest. Specifically on English language teaching in Indonesia, he identified that the problems with the teaching of English in Indonesian school were prompted by a drastic change in the 2009 curriculum in which the grammar-based, teacher-centred, and cognition-focused language teaching is shifted into text-based, student-centred, and production-oriented language learning. The latter approach makes use of Australian systemic functional grammar. This leads to another problem: none of English departments in American-dominated Indonesian universities have sufficiently introduced the theory and its application to their students. In order to overcome these challenges, an innovation needs to be initiated. English teachers need to be given further training so that they can train their students and other teachers to meet the challenges at hand.

Through the project financed by AGS, Kamaluddin will invite a group teachers of English in NTB and train them with (1) Australian systemic functional linguistics (2) analysis of authentic models of English texts, (3) analysis of relevant discursive roles and relationships within the model texts, (4) analysis of models of best practices in Australian ELT classes, and (5) development of fun, interactive, and communicative ELT materials and activities based on the models. He hopes that in the short run, the project can help overcome education problems in Indonesia in general and in the locality in particular. In the long run, the project will provide a space for Australian influences to manoeuvre within the American dominated Indonesian education system. 


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