Launched in 2019, this program is suitable for undergraduate students, postgraduate students, and early career professionals.
The APP consists of intensive Indonesian language study at an Indonesian partner university, English language lectures by local practitioners and experts in the fields of agriculture, food science, environment and resource management, and a supervised practicum placement with a local or international agricultural, agribusiness, or resource management organization operating in Indonesia.
This program runs during the Australian summer university break, from early January to mid-February for a six-week intensive period.
The program is designed to cater for students with no existing Indonesian language skills. Candidates with existing language skills will, however, be welcome. All placements provide an English-language working environment.
Indonesia is rich in natural resources with the second highest biodiversity of any country in the world. Sharing a strategic waterway with Australia, Indonesia’s fish-rich waters also make it one of the biggest seafood producers in the world, with main commodities including tuna, shrimp and seaweed. With 45% of workers in Indonesia engaged in agriculture and 31 million hectares of cultivated land, Indonesia is the third largest producer of rice in the world and also a leading producer of sugarcane, cassava, spices, coffee, cocoa, palm oil and rubber. Despite this, Indonesian agricultural policy is prioritizing the diversification of food sources away from cereals, presenting unique challenges for the agriculture and food science sectors. Indonesia is strategically important to Australia as a principal cattle trade partner and has great potential for further bilateral trade partnerships.
Aims
The aims of the APP are to:
• Provide students with a practical learning experience with a Host Organization in the Indonesian agriculture sector; and
• To develop students’ knowledge of Indonesian agriculture and agribusiness practices, and the application these practices within Indonesia’s agriculture sector; and
• Enhance bilateral understanding through the creation of new partnerships between Australian and Indonesian counterparts, and to serve as a medium for the exchange of ideas in the field of agriculture and related fields.
Structure
The structure of the six-week program is as follows:
• A two-week series of seminars and field trips led by industry experts and practitioners from Indonesia’s agricultural sector; alongside
• Two weeks of intensive Indonesian language classes at the Indonesian partner university, designed to give participants basic Indonesian language capacity;
Followed by
• A four-week, supervised practicum placement to give participants an (English-speaking) professional experience, within an Indonesian or international organization operating within Indonesia’s agricultural sector.
Supervision
An Academic Program Officer (APO) is assigned for the duration of the APP to oversee all aspects of the program, including the supervision of its academic content. The APO also acts as the primary source of guidance and advice for students. The APO is available for student consultations on a regular schedule or by appointment. To see who the current Academic Program Officer is, see their profile on the ACICIS Staff Members.
Participating students are also allocated a workplace mentor at their practicum host organization who will supervise a student’s work within the organization for the duration of the student’s practicum placement. Participants must endeavor to regularly meet with their workplace mentor throughout the placement. Over the course of the program, the APO should be invited to attend at least two meetings between the student and their host organization mentor.
All ACICIS programs operate under the direction of the ACICIS Resident Director, Dr Adrian Budiman, assisted by administrative staff in both Australia and Indonesia. ACICIS’ administrative staff regularly checks in with participants, and are available throughout the program to assist with any concerns.
Source:https://www.acicis.edu.au/
