Indonesia

Indonesia, with a population of 250 million people, is already ASEAN’s largest economy and is forecast to be the 10th largest economy in the world by 2025.  

In October 2016 RMIT University established a representative office in Jakarta. The presence signifies our increased long-term commitment to strengthening and deepening engagement in Indonesia, which already spans across a range of activities and sectors including English language for industry training, research projects with many of Indonesia’s premier universities and connections with multi-national organisations and industry associations based in Indonesia.

With many of RMIT’s core strengths like supply chain and logistics, sustainable cities, construction management and education delivery aligned to Indonesia’s development and investment plans, RMIT believes it can bring expertise and experience to assist Indonesia progressively develop. 

Managed by our Chief Representative Fifi Budiman, the representative office is strategically located at World Trade Centre in central Jakarta.  The office delivers a range of activities including:   

• alumni enrichment
• development of collaborative partnerships with industry and educational institutions
• Fostering of relationships across all levels of government
• assisting in the enhancement of student experiences and career employability through industry and corporate engagement. 

A wide range of RMIT University researchers are engaging with fellow academics and industry in Indonesia.

• Dr Ferry Jie has been granted an Endeavour Award Research Fellowship by the Australian Government for a project about the dairy supply chain in Indonesia and Australia, working with Diponegoro University in Semarang.
• Dr Jie’s earlier research has led to joint publications with colleagues at Diponegoro University; Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta; Bina Darma University, South Sumatera; Bakrie University, Jakarta; Trisakti University, Jakarta; Pelita Harapan University, Tangerang; UKSW, Semarang; and UNIKA Soegiyopranoto, Semarang. He is currently supervising three Indonesian PhD students while collaborating on a journal paper with Dr Ilyas Masudin from Muhammadiyah University in Malang, Java.
• Dr Jie was a keynote speaker at the National Seminar in Logistics and Supply Chain in Agribusiness in February 2014 in Jakarta.
• Dr Ifte Ahmed is involved in a research project on post-tsunami housing in Aceh, with findings published in several peer-reviewed publications and as a major book chapter. He has also undertaken an evaluation of post-disaster projects and provided training at Gajah Madah University in Yogyakarta and Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh.
• A multi-disciplinary research team led by Professor Aleksandar Subic, with the help of Dr Enda Crossin and Dr Bahman Shabani, has worked to identify the sustainable manufacturing capabilities and requirements of the Adidas Group's suppliers in Indonesia and establish a series of improvement projects. The research aimed to generate new knowledge and practices in the manufacturing of sports footwear and apparel to ensure the ongoing competitiveness and leadership of the Adidas Group's suppliers internationally.
• Professor Sarah Pink, Dr John Postill and Dr Yolande Strengers’ project COMPLEX, CLEVER, COOL, developed in partnership with Unilever, focuses on digital media, laundry and sustainability in Indonesia.
• Dr Tehmina Khan has had an article published in the journal Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, on research on biodiversity and accountability in Kalimantan’s forests.
• Dr Caroline Norma liaises closely with colleagues at Jakarta State Islamic University on women's issues in Indonesia.
• Ian Woodruff headed a series of health services management training projects funded by the Australia Indonesia Strategic Training Project.
• Dr Peter Phipps has researched the urban cultures of modernity, specifically through an ethnographic study of a gated development in Bali.
• Dr Mali Abdollahian has been working on a research project aiming to improve newborn mortality rates in Indonesia with Dewi Anggraini, a lecturer from Lambung Mangkurat University, Banjarbaru, who completed her Masters in 2009 from RMIT, and S. Nuryani who is a medical practitioner in Ulin Hospital (RSUD Ulin), Banjarmasin. They have published several refereed research papers since 2009. In 2014 they secured an Australia Awards Scholarship supported by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) for Ms Anggraini to study at RMIT in Melbourne from 2015.
• Rabin Ibnu Zainal, a lecturer at Bina Darma University in Palembang, Sumatera, is undertaking his PhD at RMIT. His working experiences in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have led to him researching the implementation of mandatory CSR laws in Indonesia.
• Adjunct Professor Dr Douglas Lewis is an anthropologist who has undertaken research on Flores and Timor since 1977. In late 2014, he is spending two months in Flores examining alliance ("marriage") relations between the lowland Sikkanese peoples and the mountain people of Tana 'Ai in Kabupaten Sikka. He is also helping finalise the translation of an English language book into Bahasa Indonesia for publication by Penerbit Ledalero (Maumere, Flores).