We are delighted to launch the ACICIS alumni tracer study.

Since 1995, nearly 5,000 students have undertaken study in Indonesia through the Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies. ACICIS has contributed significantly to the maintenance of Indonesia-related expertise in Australia and the cultivation of a new generation of Australians with first-hand experience of, and passion for, engagement with Indonesia. ACICIS alumni now hold significant positions in government, academia and business and, anecdotally at least, are acknowledged to contribute to the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship in a myriad of ways, in a wide diversity of fields, well beyond their formative encounters with Indonesia as university students. This study is seeking to determine and, to an extent, quantify the contribution that ACICIS alumni have made to the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia, as well as the impact that undertaking an ACICIS program has had on the academic, personal and career development of program participants. 

The study is being conducted by The University of Western Australia. It is a longitudinal research study, with the aim being to survey cohorts of ACICIS alumni at five-year intervals – on an ongoing basis – commencing in 2021.

In 2023, ACICIS is specifically seeking to survey alumni who participated in ACICIS programs in: 1997 and 2002. 

The research team conducting this tracer study is as follows:

• Associate Professor David Bourchier (Chief Investigator), Lecturer in Indonesian language and politics at The University of Western Australia’s School of Social Sciences;
• Liam Prince (Co-investigator), ACICIS Consortium Director; and
• Megan McPherson (Co-investigator), ACICIS Marketing and Student Recruitment Coordinator

Approval to conduct this research has been provided by The University of Western Australia’s Human Ethics Office (UWA Ethics Ref No: 2020/ET000071).

Participation in the study is voluntary. There is no obligation for alumni to participate and participants are free to withdraw from the study at any time without explanation or penalty.

If you completed an ACICIS program in 1997 or 2002 we would be very grateful if you could set aside 10-15 minutes of your time to complete the anonymous online survey. Alumni from these program cohorts have been sent an email containing a survey link. If you are an ACICIS alumni who participated in a program during one of these years but have not received an email and survey link, and would like to participate in the study, please contact the ACICIS Secretariat at acicis@acicis.edu.au or on +61 8 6488 6675. We will be happy to send you a survey link.

The survey will be open to complete until Monday, 18 December, 2023.

Your participation in this study will contribute to a better understanding of the impact of ACICIS on the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship and on students’ personal, academic and career development. The data collected from this study will also help to inform and improve the design and delivery of ACICIS programs in the future.