ACICIS National Reference Group
ACICIS programs and activities are governed by a National Reference Group consisting of senior academic Indonesia-specialists and international student mobility professionals representing all Australian state and territory jurisdictions, as well as several “members by invitation” appointed to the Reference Group by virtue of, and for, their particular specialist knowledge, expertise, or professional experience.
The National Reference Group is responsible for approving and taking the lead in implementing all ACICIS initiatives and activities; monitoring the consortium’s activities and financial position; determining matters of policy relating to ACICIS – including the fees payable by consortium members; and ratifying the decisions of the Consortium Director to the extent required by the ACICIS Joint Venture Agreement to which all consortium member universities are party.
Consortium Director (Chair)
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ACT & TAS Representation
Dr Ross Tapsell
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NSW Representation
Dr Elisabeth Kramer
Member
Dr Elisabeth Kramer is Deputy Director of the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre at the University of Sydney. She completed a PhD in Indonesian Studies, focused on Indonesian political parties and their use of anti-corruption discourse in political communication and campaigning. Elisabeth has taught a number of Southeast Asia-related courses, including in-country field school units as well as Indonesian language to non-native speakers.
Dr Kramer also holds a BSc/BA(Asian Studies)(Hons) from the University of Sydney and a Masters of International and Community Development from Deakin University. Between studying and working in academia she has also worked as a public servant, an international development consultant and an ESL teacher.
View Bio
Professor Lesley Harbon
Deputy Member
Lesley Harbon is Professor and Head of School in the Schools of International Studies and Education at the University of Technology Sydney. She completed her undergraduate degree and teaching qualifications at the University of Sydney, majoring in Indonesian and German. After graduating from the University of New England with a Master of Education, Lesley pursued her PhD in languages education at the University of Tasmania. Lesley has taught Indonesian in primary, secondary and tertiary language programs since the early 1980s, prior to moving into language teacher education in the 1990s. Lesley’s most recent collaborative research project is a linguistic landscape study about food and nutrition messages in Indonesia’s school landscapes.
QLD Representation
Professor Caitlin Byrne
Member
Professor Caitlin Byrne is Director of the Griffith Asia Institute. Prior to joining Griffith University, Caitlin was Assistant Professor of International Relations and Diplomacy at Bond University, Gold Coast. She is a Faculty Fellow of the University of Southern California’s Centre for Public Diplomacy (CPD), and alumna of the Asialink Leaders Program 2016.
Caitlin’s teaching and research is focused on diplomacy and soft power in the Asia-Pacific with a special interest in the role and relevance of people-to-people links including those forged through international education, culture, sport and social media.
Caitlin consults on occasion to government. She is deeply engaged in Queensland’s international policy community, including as a member of the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) Queensland Executive, and the Fulbright Selection Committee for Queensland
SA & NT Representation
VIC Representation
Professor Caroline Chan
Member
Professor Caroline Chan is the Head of School of Business IT and Logistics and is a full professor of Information Systems at RMIT University. Professor Chan has chaired various academic and industry projects including the Management of Food and Grocery Distribution in the event of a Human Influenza Pandemic in 2007, the development of National Food Composition Database in 2010 (Scoping Study) and 2011/12 (Pilot implementation) and the development of the GoScan smart phone application in 2010.
Professor Chan speaks regularly in academic and industry events and has received numerous services awards for industry-associated projects including GS1 Recognition of Excellence Award for Academic Advancements in Supply Chain Management in 2007. Professor Chan was a member of the Australian Federal Government’s Low Value Parcel Processing Taskforce in 2012/2013 and a chair of international panel for the World Bank project in 2014/2015.
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Ms Sarah Argles
Deputy Member
Sarah Argles has been managing the Faculty of Arts Global Programs team at Monash University since 2014. She led her first ever study tour to Indonesia in 2013, which transformed into one of the first New Colombo Plan funded programs. Prior to that she has held roles at Monash Abroad and the University of Melbourne. Sarah has been engaged in the international education sector since 2002 and has a BS Business Administration from the Ohio State University and MA Intercultural Relations from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.
WA Representation
Dr Jacqui Baker
Member
Jacqui Baker is Lecturer in Southeast Asian Studies at Murdoch University. Jacqui is an ACICIS alumna, having completed a year of study in Indonesia with ACICIS in 2000 as part of her undergraduate studies at ANU. Jacqui holds a PhD in Comparative Government from the London School of Economics and has worked as an expert consultant for numerous international organisations including The Asia Foundation, Amnesty International, the EU, and the UN.
Consortium Host University (UWA) Representation
A/Prof David Bourchier
Host (UWA) Representative
David Bourchier studied at Flinders, Murdoch and Monash Universities graduating in politics in 1996. He has taught courses on Asian politics and Indonesian language at Flinders University, RMIT and Murdoch University, and has published extensively on the politics of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. David has been at The University of Western Australia since 1998, where he has taught several units relating to modern Indonesia and Southeast Asia as well as all levels of Indonesian.
Members by Invitation
Dr Sara Beavis
Member by invitation
Dr Sara Beavis is a Senior Lecturer at the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University where she convenes and teaches courses in water science, water management and island sustainability at undergraduate and graduate levels. She has published extensively on the impacts of natural and anthropogenic processes on water quality, water security and water management. Current research includes: the transport and fluxes of heavy metals associated with artisanal mining in eastern Indonesia; the implications of climate variability and change on water and sediment quality in inland and coastal aquatic environments; and, examining the ethical dimensions of water resources management in the Pacific and Pacific Rim region.
Professor David Hill AM
Emeritus Professor David T. Hill AM
Founder and Immediate Past Consortium Director
David Hill is Emeritus Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Murdoch University in Perth and both the founder and immediate past Director of ACICIS. David has an extensive record of research and publication on Indonesian media, literature, biography, and cultural politics. David has served as a Board Member of the DFAT Australia-Indonesia Institute (2011-14) and previously chaired the Board of Management of Murdoch University’s Asia Research Centre. View Bio
A/Prof David Reeve
Member by invitation
David Reeve has been visiting Indonesia for over 40 years, as a diplomat, researcher, and historian. He has lived in Indonesia for eleven years and worked at four Indonesian universities – including a three-year stint as ACICIS’ Resident Director in Yogyakarta in the late 1990s. David has a wealth of experience in the development of Indonesian language tertiary teaching materials and curriculum design, and has published extensively on Indonesian politics and language.
Lydia Santoso
Member by invitation
Lydia is an Australian qualified lawyer and public notary, specialising in the area of Indonesian-Australian law. She speaks fluent Indonesian and English and has worked in law firms in both Sydney and Jakarta. Lydia has acted for many Australian businesses with interests in Indonesia, Indonesian business owners located in the greater Sydney area, Indonesian property developers, and many Indonesians living in Australia. She has also represented the Indonesian Government in Sydney. Lydia is passionate about fostering Australia – Indonesia relations and spends much of her time on philanthropic endeavours in this field. She currently holds appointments as an Advisory Board Member of DFAT’s Australia Indonesia Institute (since 2015), Vice Chair of the NSW Branch of the Australia Indonesia Business Council, and as the founding Chair of the Balai Bahasa & Budaya Indonesia of NSW.
Louise McGrath
Member by invitation
Louise McGrath is Head of Industry Development and Policy at the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group). She has a particular interest in international business training and facilitation, trade and border regulations, and international transport. Louise has extensive experience providing advice and counseling to manufacturing companies on export and trade related matters. She regularly represents Australian industry in multilateral forums such as the B20 Coalition and the East Asia Business Council working group on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Louise has advocated for the interests of Ai Group members within several free trade agreement negotiations. Louise has a Bachelor of Arts (Arabic Language and Culture) from Deakin University and an Advanced Diploma in International Trade from RMIT. She has studied Arabic at universities in Jordan and Egypt.
Dr Kirrilee Hughes
Member by invitation
Dr Kirrilee Hughes is an international education professional with expertise across Southeast Asia and in the global higher education and schools sectors. She has held leadership and strategy roles for global education organisations as well as sessional teaching and research positions at four leading Australian universities. Kirrilee is a Senior Fellow of the International Education Association of Australia and currently works in Singapore, where she has founded an international education consultancy – Bestari Consulting.
Kirrilee’s doctoral research, undertaken through the Australian National University, focused on Australia’s Asia literacy agenda. She also completed her honours degree at ANU and is an ACICIS alumni – having undertaken two semesters of study in Indonesia through ACICIS in 2001. Kirrilee has previously managed the Australia Indonesia Business Council and held the role of Supervising Program Manager for the Australian Phase of the Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program, funded through Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.