November
Monash Indonesia welcomes collaboration from the department of Economics
Monash University Indonesia is the first foreign university in that country, and is a postgraduate campus only offering Master’s degrees, PhDs and Executive Education courses.
The campus is based in the southwest of Greater Jakarta, with a faculty of about 25 academic staff and around 250 students. Professor Andrew MacIntyre is the President of Monash University Indonesia. With a background in political science, his research focus has been on Indonesian government politics and policy making.
“The business and wider community in Indonesia have been very supportive. We’re very clear that our core mission is all about making a strong contribution to the further success of Indonesia. In doing so we welcome more collaboration from colleagues at the Monash Business School, and there are many opportunities here for staff,” he said.
Monash Indonesia offers Master’s degrees and programs from different faculties at Monash Australia. These include: Master of Business Innovation, Master of Public Policy and Management, Master of Data Science, Master of Urban Design, Master of Cyber Security Master of Public Health. Next year, the Master of Sustainability and the Master of Marketing and digital communication followed by a Master of smart transportation and infrastructure.
While most students attending Monash University Indonesia have been local, the first international students have started arriving, from China, Taiwan and Qatar.
Both Monash University Indonesia and the Indonesian government hope to increase the number of foreign students. Most staff carry Indonesian passports but have been trained all over the world. There are already some joint units taught with Monash Business School and Monash Indonesia, especially in the Executive Education space. A future aim of the University is for students to start a degree in Indonesia and complete it in Melbourne.
“Too few people know that Indonesia is one of the loveliest countries in the world and there are such extraordinary economic and social opportunities here. The staff who come from overseas understand that their research and teaching can have a much broader impact here,” Prof MacIntyre said.
Monash Indonesia has two main roles: to build a successful and self-sustaining campus that the Monash community can be proud of; and to be a facilitative platform for the Monash community who wish to engage with Indonesia. In order to enhance these roles Monash Indonesia is looking to strengthen ties with Monash Business School and welcomes visits from, and collaborations with, staff from the Department of Economics.
“We hugely welcome interest from any colleagues in Economics whether they have an interest in Indonesia or have a good project or consulting operation. The more researchers from faculties of business and economics who have conferences, projects or collaborations here, the better, whether it links to our campus or not,” Prof MacIntyre said.
“That could be research bids, grants or collaborative teaching programs that include Indonesia. Colleagues at Monash Australia would be surprised how good their colleagues are here and how good the students are. There is a huge opportunity for Monash in Indonesia,” he said.