In July 2024, ACICIS hosted 34 students from 7 Australian universities for winter Public health Study Tour (PHST). The majority have been awarded mobility grants through the Australian Government New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Program. This winter iteration ran from 6 – 20 July 2024 and was led once again by Dr Emily Rowe, who have been overseeing both the virtual and in-country iterations of PHST numerous times as the Tour Leader.
The tour started with an orientation session provided by ACICIS Staff, aiming to give students an overview of Indonesian Public Health sector and culture. The tour was officially opened with an opening ceremony by the host university, the Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia.
Public Health Study Tour was held in Depok and Yogyakarta. During the tour, students are participating in several agenda such as seminars presented by remarkable speakers, field visits to health and public health related facilities, and cultural field trip for them to immerse in Indonesian culture. Other than attending seminars that is covering various Public Health topics in Indonesia, the students also visited Universitas Indonesia hospital, waste management sites in Bogor, YAKKUM rehabilitation centre in Yogyakarta, Code River site community in Yogyakarta, Puskesmas (a government mandated community health centre), and Posyandu (a community-based health centre for children’s early development).
They also visited Kebaya Foundation in Yogyakarta, an NGO and non-profit organisation, that acts as a shelter for people with HIV/AIDS and LGBTQIA+ community to aid, empower, and give them the support system they deserve. The goal of these field visits was to provide the students with an opportunity to experience the public health system and challenges in Indonesia.
In addition, the students had cultural field trips to break the ice of their compact study during the Tour. They paid a visit to Batik Museum and Anjungan Bali (Bali pavilion) in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) to learn more about Batik as a huge part of Indonesian culture and to learn how to do Balinese Kecak Dance. Other than that, students also get a first-hand experience on making their own Batik on a Batik-making workshop in Kebon Agung Tourism Village.
At the end of the first and second week, the students delivered academic presentations and recommendations on various public health topics that they had learnt throughout the week. The presentations were graded by the tour leader and lecturers from UI. The tour was wrapped up with a closing lunch. A mini award session was also held to appreciate the students’ enthusiasm in the Tour. To mark the end of the tour, students enjoyed a traditional dance performance by Sanggar Tari Kusuma Aji, a local dance studio in Yogyakarta.
We hope the students enjoyed the program as much as we did and came home with memorable experience, invaluable knowledge, and long-lasting friendship. We wish the students good luck in their future endeavours and hopefully our path will cross again in the future. Sampai jumpa lagi!