Outbound student mobility to Indonesia and the New Colombo Plan

Outbound student mobility to Indonesia and
the New Colombo Plan:
Lessons learnt from ACICIS
Ms Elena Williams, MA
ACICIS Resident Director
What is The Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’
Indonesian Studies (ACICIS)?
› 
Non-profit consortium established in 1994 to enable students to
undertake credited study at Indonesian universities
› 
We have 22 Australian and 2 international university members
› 
We organise semester-long, short course and study tour programs at
Indonesian universities, allowing students to receive credit towards
their home degrees
› 
Since 1995, over 2,000 students have studied through ACICIS
programs
ACICIS member universities
WHO DO WE WORK WITH? (MITRA ACICIS)
› 
7 Indonesian university partners:
›  Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Universitas Sanata Dharma (USD), and
Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) in Yogyakarta;
›  Universitas Parahyangan (UNPAR) in Bandung;
›  Universitas Katolik Atma Jaya in Jakarta;
›  Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) in Malang;
›  and Institute Pertanian Bogor (IPB) in Bogor.
› 
Work through International Offices and faculty-level mobility offices,
plus language and cultural learning centres.
ACICIS’ PROGRAMS IN INDONESIA
› 
Semester-long courses:
› 
Short courses:
›  Flexible Language Immersion
›  Development Studies Practicum*
›  East Java Field Studies*
›  Journalism Professional Practicum*
›  West Java Field Studies*
›  Business Professional Practicum*
›  Indonesian Business, Law and
Society*
›  Creative Arts & Design Professional
Practicum (January 2017)
›  International Relations*
›  Teaching Immersion
›  Development Studies Immersion*
›  Agriculture Semester Program
(launching August 2016)
* Suitable for non-Indonesian language speakers
› 
Study tours:
›  School tours
›  Educational tours
›  Public Health Study Tour
(December 2016)
ACICIS and the New Colombo Plan (NCP)
› 
Since 2014 we have supported an additional
250 students to study and intern in Indonesia
on both semester and short-course programs,
through the mobility grant stream
› 
Our total student numbers up by 35% for 2015
› 
Helping students establish internship
placements: emphasis on vocational, hands-on
learning experiences
› 
Connecting current and future professional
leaders in a range of sectors
Creating opportunities, opening the
door to Indonesia
› 
The NCP has opened up new
opportunities for ACICIS programs
in ‘non-Indonesian Studies’ areas.
› 
Around 60% of our NCP-supported
students are not studying an
Indonesian/ Southeast Asian/ Asian
Studies major and this is their first
time in Indonesia.
› 
Through the NCP/ ACICIS they’re
able to ‘re-configure’ what Indonesia
means to them
From ACICIS students themselves re. NCP
›  ‘I wouldn’t have come to Indonesia otherwise’ (Flexible
Immersion semester student, Yogyakarta, June 2015)
›  ‘I had no idea Jakarta was so modern- it’s nothing like I
expected! Even though it’s busy, I feel really at home
here.’ (Business student, February, 2015)
›  ‘I couldn’t even say “terima kasih” six months ago, and now I
want to keep learning Indonesian back in Melbourne.’ (Intl
Relations student, Bandung, July, 2015)
›  ‘After doing this semester, I know that Indonesia will be a part
of my career plan’ (Development Studies student, Yogyakarta,
June, 2015)
Academic vs. vocational experience: the results?
› 
In-depth knowledge of politics, business and society in Indonesia,
learning that from an Indonesian perspective through the workplace
› 
Students who know and understand the Indonesian professional sector
will make better informed future leaders in our region
› 
Mutual respect: really getting to know their peers, colleagues and
mentors
› 
Cultural and linguistic skill sets that other business professionals don’t
have
Moving forward?
› 
Growing our programs through the 2016 – 2017
NCP funding rounds: Agriculture, Creative Arts &
Design, Public Health. Potential for new partner
universities in Creative Arts and Public Health.
› 
Continue to work with the NCP to promote the
initiative in Indonesia and among our member
universities/ students in Australia.
› 
Through ACICIS/ NCP alumni, work to create
pathways for recent graduates who really
understand the context: internship programs,
mentorships, graduate recruitment.
For further information, please visit:
www.acicis.edu.au
Or contact us via:
Elena Williams:
[email protected]
ACICIS Secretariat:
[email protected]
@elewilliams/ @ACICIS