AQUApuncture Studio – Catalytic Design for Water Access in Indonesia
AQUApuncture Studio – Catalytic Design for Water Access in Indonesia
About:
Led by Dr Tanvi Maheswhari this is a 12 credit point studio offered to Vertical Studio (year 2 and 3) students.
Water is the world's most valuable resource, yet over 2.2 billion people—and particularly women and girls, who carry the burden of water collection—do not have access to safe drinking water. In Indonesia’s rapidly growing peri-urban communities, this crisis is acute, where drinking water is often commodified and commercialised, becoming out of reach for disadvantaged residents.
For years, the government and NGOs have implemented technocratic approaches, such as river normalisation programs, large-scale wastewater infrastructure, to address these challenges. These heavy-handed, expensive engineering solutions have consistently failed to deliver lasting change because they ignore the socio-cultural drivers—the human element—necessary for sustained conservation and local stewardship.
This studio repositions water as commons, rejecting the view of water systems as merely engineered hardware, but sees it as living networks embedded in the socio-cultural fabric of communities.
International Field Visit: West Java, Indonesia
To ensure your design is culturally, ecologically, and technically informed, the studio includes a mandatory 10-day field visit to West Java, Indonesia. You will experience completed and ongoing pilot projects on the site first-hand, engaging directly with local architects, historians, industry and NGOs. This unique, immersive experience will build skills in research-led, impact-based practice and international development, ensuring your project directly contributes to a live pilot project with real-world impact.
AQUApuncture is a call for architects ready to design for equity and resilience in complex and challenging environments. For more information, visit our website.
Itinerary:
Under development
Contacts:
Priscilla Adeline, Admin Officer, Priscilla.adeline@monash.edu
Bernadette Wilson, Department Manager, Bernadette.wilson@monash.edu
| Dates / Deadlines: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Year | App Deadline | Start Date | End Date | |
| Sem 1 | 2026 | 2-Mar-2026 | 11-Apr-2026 | 19-Apr-2026 | |
| Information Sheet | |
|---|---|
| Course Level | Vertical Studio (year 2 and 3) students |
| Awarded Credit Points | 12 |
| Program Type | GST - Global Study Tour |
| Program Duration | 10 days |
| Leading Faculty | Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture |
| Minimum WAM | 60% |
| Eligible Monash Campus | Monash Australia |
| Funding Available | Monash Abroad Travel Grant |
Indicative costs
- $1500 -1800 approx
- Students can book their own flights
- Group accommodation is booked for you
- 30% of non-refundable deposit due 2 March 2026
- 70% of deposit due 30 days prior to departure
*Monash students will be enrolled into the relevant 12-credit point unit and charged standard fees according to their verified funding status. This fee will appear on your Monash Fee Statement.
Travel insurance
If you are an actively enrolled Monash student and participating in an approved international program, you will be provided with complimentary travel insurance. You will automatically be covered once your application has been approved and your enrolment updated to reflect your study overseas.
Under this policy, travellers will also receive access to 24/7 emergency assistance provided by Global 24 Emergency Assistance and limited coverage for personal travel days.
Visas
Monash Abroad cannot provide advice regarding visa requirements. If you require a visa to enter the destination (e.g. you are an International student), you will need to contact the relevant Embassy or Consulate General in Melbourne for advice. Monash Abroad can issue you with supporting documentation to lodge your visa application, to request that, please complete this form. Please note, these requests take approximately 3-5 business days, but may take longer during peak periods.
Centrelink support documents
For the purposes of maintaining your Centrelink benefits during your overseas program, complete this form so that Monash Abroad can produce a letter of enrolment for you. Please note, these requests take approximately 3-5 business days, but may take longer during peak periods.
Important Note:
The Monash Abroad Travel Grant and OS-HELP loan (if applicable) will be only be paid to you when all Monash Abroad requirements are completed by you and your Faculty has enrolled you into the relevant unit(s). Therefore, these funds should not be considered as your primary source of funding to pay program related deposits and balances.
Monash Abroad Travel Grant
Monash students studying in Australia who are enrolled into a credit bearing unit for this program will be assessed for eligibility to receive a Monash Abroad travel grant.
Student Loans
If you need help with study-related expenses, please refer to the student loans website and talk to a student adviser at Monash Connect.
Travel Scholarships
Please refer to the travel and placements scholarship website for more information.
| Dates / Deadlines: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Year | App Deadline | Start Date | End Date | |
| Sem 1 | 2026 | 2-Mar-2026 | 11-Apr-2026 | 19-Apr-2026 | |
How to Apply
Step 1: Submit an application for this program
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
Step 2: Selection
The Faculty will review all applicants after the deadline to assess eligibility to participate in this overseas. Please note that this generally takes one to two weeks after applications have closed.
Step 3: Enrolment and travel approval
If you are accepted into the program, you will be issued with an outcome email and you will be enrolled into the associated unit. You will also receive an email alert with additional Monash Abroad tasks for you to complete:
- Passport and Medical Details form
- Travel Approval Request Form
- Mandatory pre-departure module.
Once you have completed these tasks, Monash Abroad will approve you for travel. You will then have access to the travel insurance coverage and be issued with any relevant grants, loans and/or scholarships.
Important note: you must have a valid passport that does not expire until at least six months after the program end date.
| Dates / Deadlines: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Year | App Deadline | Decision Date | Start Date | End Date |
| Summer A (Nov-Dec) | 2023 | 30-Jul-2023 | Rolling admission | 01-Dec-2023 | 10-Dec-2023 |
Eligibility
Places are limited and applications will be assessed on a competitive basis. To apply for this program, you must have:
- a WAM of 70% or above
- completed 48 credit points however, students with lower credit points may be considered if there are special circumstances
- submitted a 500-word personal statement as part of your application*.
* The Personal Statement should respond to the following:
Why would you like to undertake the unit?
What do you hope to learn in the unit?
What newsrooms and site visits are you most interested in visiting?
Have you been involved in MOJO and internships during your degree?
Please also be aware that you must have completed the following gateway units: ATS1089 Fundamentals of Journalism and/or ATS1090 Practice of Journalism.
At all times Monash University embraces and celebrates true diversity. We strongly welcome applications from our students living with disabilities, who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, students with caring and/or parenting responsibilities, who identify as LGBTIQA+, people of colour, and those whose identities intersect with more than one of the above.
How to Apply
Step 1: Submit an application for this program
Click here - Select "Monash led programs" as the program type.
Ensure that you respond to the above prompts in the "Personal Statement" portion of the application form.
NOTE: The Faculty cannot assess your application without the inclusion of a personal statement.
Step 2: Selection
Assessment will be undertaken by the relevant faculty by reviewing your personal statement, WAM, year of course and that you have met the enrolment requirements.
Step 3: Enrolment and travel approval
If you are accepted into the program, you will be issued with an outcome email and you will be enrolled into the associated unit. You will also receive an email alert with another two forms for you to complete:
1. passport and medical details and
2. Travel Approval Request Form.
Once you have actioned both of those forms, Monash Abroad will approve you for travel. You will then have access to the travel insurance coverage and be issued with any relevant grants and scholarships.
Important note: you must have a valid passport that does not expire until at least six months after the program end date.