The 'Study Indonesia Program'
Studying in Indonesia, made easy
One of the most efficient and satisfying ways of learning a language must surely be while studying and living in the country. This is certainly the experience of students studying in Indonesia under a collaborative partnership between Australian and Indonesian universities.
Intrepid individual foreign students have long been able to enter Indonesian universities. However, negotiating the complex bureaucratic procedures required to obtain a study visa and a university place has often been daunting. In an effort to overcome these hurdles, in 1994 the Australian government provided Murdoch University with seed funding to establish a national consortium of universities to facilitate the placement of students into Indonesian universities for one semester or more. This organization, known as Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (ACICIS), now has 21 Australian universities as members, including all those with significant profiles in Indonesian studies. It enables foreign students of Indonesian language and culture to undertake semester-long studies at Indonesian universities with a minimum of frustration and delay.
After five years of operations, ACICIS is now inviting non-Australian universities to join the consortium as Associate Members, and would welcome expressions of interest. In addition to students from member and associate member universities, ACICIS also accepts private participants from beyond the university sector.
ACICIS maintains a small, part-time Secretariat at Murdoch University to process applications, provide information and pre-departure advice, and liaise with member universities. The consortium employs a senior Australian academic as Resident Director in Indonesia. The Resident Director, currently Associate Professor David Reeve from the University of New South Wales, provides academic, administrative, and pastoral support for students in-country. This includes running an initial Orientation Program on arrival and regular 'check-point' meetings with all students to monitor academic progress and social and cultural adjustment. The Resident Director also ensures that accurate academic reports are provided to the students' home universities, since member universities give full academic credit to their students for the ACICIS 'Study Indonesia Program'.
Students select from a wide variety of semester-long study options. The two most popular options are the Intensive Language Program for Foreigners (available at Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced level), or immersion in regular curriculum across the various faculties. Both these options are offered at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.
In addition, advanced students capable of independent study using Indonesian language may choose between three 'field study' options offered through the Muhammadiyah University in Malang, East Java. There is a General Field Study option, one specifically designed for Indonesian language teachers, and another Practical Arts option (with training in carving, music, batik and other arts). The General Field Study option has proved popular for students intending to undertake research for an undergraduate thesis.
Despite the rigours of in-country study, student satisfaction has been high. More than 98% of respondents to anonymous Student Evaluation questionnaires completed at the conclusion of each semester have indicated they would recommend the Study Indonesia Program.
To a large extent, this high level of satisfaction can be attributed to the presence of the Resident Director who provides a comprehensive support for students, from arrival to departure, encouraging them to move outside the classroom and into the broader Indonesian community through a variety of activities. In addition, the Resident Director plays a vital role in ensuring the students are safe and secure during periods of social and political unrest, as occurred in May 1998 during the events leading to the fall of Soeharto.
In fact, the political turbulence of 1998-1999 appears only to have stimulated interest in Indonesian 'in-country' study. This semester there are 60 students in Indonesia on the 'Study Indonesia Program'. Since its establishment ACICIS has placed more than 330 students in Indonesian universities.
Universities or individuals interested in joining the ACICIS Study
Indonesia Program are invited to contact or the Consortium Director,
Professor David Hill (email: dthill@central.murdoch.edu.au) or the
Secretariat (email: acicis@central.murdoch.edu.au
or fax: 61 89360
6575). Further details are available on the ACICIS web-site at:
http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/acicis/default.htm