Project 1: ACICIS Study Indonesia Alumni Census

The Australian Consortium for ‘In-country’ Indonesian Studies (ACICIS) is seeking funding to undertake a census of ACICIS alumni, to determine how ACICIS programs contribute to students’ learning outcomes, career trajectories and personal development, as well as how ACICIS alumni have contributed to the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia. The first stage of this project will include a review and update of our current alumni database. The second stage will include the development and dissemination of a comprehensive survey of alumni, focusing on their career trajectories, personal and academic development and their level of ongoing engagement with Indonesia.

The results of this survey will be utilised for a number of purposes, in a range of formats, including in an interactive website and report.

Results of the census will serve the following purposes:

• Provide member universities, potential funding bodies and patrons, government departments and prospective ACICIS students with qualitative data regarding how ACICIS programs have contributed to the academic, career and personal development of alumni;
• Contribute to a sense of community and belonging among ACICIS alumni;
• Inform ACICIS’ internal assessment of existing ACICIS programs and guide the development of new program offerings in Indonesia;
• Quantify for member universities, relevant government departments, and current and future patrons of ACICIS, the contribution that ACICIS alumni have made to the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship and, where possible, provide instructive lessons to for possible application to other programs and policy goals; and
• Serve as a resource for ACICIS when seeking grants and corporate sponsorship, developing new programs and assessing strengths and weaknesses of current offerings; and
• Provide quantitative data upon which to base future approaches for government, corporate and philanthropic funding of ACICIS activities.

Download PDF version of project proposal

In 2015, the Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies (ACICIS) will celebrate 20 years of developing and coordinating in-country study programs in Indonesia. Since 1995, nearly 2,000 students have undertaken study in Indonesia through ACICIS. In its first two decades 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 private enterprise and continue to contribute to the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship in a myriad of ways – well beyond their formative encounters with Indonesia as university students.

Today ACICIS is the longest running provider of in-country Indonesian study programs for Australian university students and the primary mechanism through which Australian students pursue study in Indonesia for academic credit. From small beginnings as a facilitator of accredited in-country Indonesian language study, ACICIS program offerings have grown to include both semester-long and six-week professional practicum programs in a wide range of disciplines including journalism, development studies, business and commerce, and international relations. The ACICIS consortium currently counts among its membership twenty-two Australian universities (including all of Australia’s Group of Eight) as well as overseas centres-of-excellence in the field of Indonesian and Southeast Asian Studies such as SOAS University of London and Leiden University.

In ACICIS will welcome its 40th intake of semester students, while in August the consortium will celebrate 20 years since the very first semester cohort of ACICIS students arrived at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. To commemorate these auspicious occasions, ACICIS intends to hold a ‘year of celebration’ with events and activities taking place in both Australia and Indonesia throughout the course of 2015.

In addition to these events, ACICIS is initiating a number of 20th Anniversary projects to mark this important milestone, including an alumni census, an expansion of the Lestari Widyastuti Scholarship Program, and the development of an Indonesian current affairs podcast.

Anecdotally, ACICIS alumni have gone on to make a contribution to the Australia-Indonesia relationship across senior positions in government, the media, development organisations, and private enterprise. A census of ACICIS alumni will seek to determine and, to an extent, quantify the contribution ACICIS alumni have made to the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia, as well as to students’ academic, personal and career development.

Before initiating the census, ACICIS will reconnect with alumni and update its contact database, a valuable exercise both for this project and related 20^th anniversary activities. A comprehensive survey will then be developed and emailed to our alumni, through an online survey application. Considerable effort will be taken maximise the response rate, potentially through multiple emails or follow up phone calls. A high response rate is necessary to the reliability of outcomes.

The census will be published in several formats, making it accessible to various stakeholders and for a range of purposes. To enhance a sense of community and belonging among alumni from different cohorts, as well as to promote ACICIS programs to universities and prospective students, the results of the census will be published in an online interactive format interspersed with archival material and footage.

A print and online report will be published detailing the results of the census, focusing on outcomes related to personal, academic and career development, and the contribution ACICIS alumni have made to the Australia-Indonesia relationship. This report will be of value to external stakeholders – such as the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training, and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ACICIS member universities, and current and future patrons of ACICIS – seeking to understand the impact of study abroad programs on student development and on broader policy goals. This report may also serve as a resource for academics, to encourage further research and analysis of the impact of study abroad programs.

The ACICIS alumni census will:

• Contribute to a sense of connection and community among ACICIS alumni, thereby encouraging their continued career development and engagement in the Indonesia-Australia ‘space’;
• Enhance understanding of the impact of ACICIS programs on students’ personal, academic and career development;
• Enhance understanding of the impact of ACICIS on the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship, including people-to-people links; and
• Encourage government to use education and people-to-people links to enhance Australia’s bilateral relationships.