Amelia Fyfield completed the Flexible Language Immersion Program in 1999 as part of her studies at the Australian National University.
Amelia Fyfield is CSIRO’s Director for Southeast Asia, championing science diplomacy across the Indo-Pacific. She leads the Indo-Pacific Plastics Innovation Network, and holds NAATI certification as an Indonesian translator. Her career in cross-border innovation began with a single decision: choosing Indonesian over French when her year level became the first at her school to have the option.
“It seemed obvious that I’d want to learn the language of our closest neighbours,” she says. Great teachers turned curiosity into commitment, leading her to Asian Studies at the Australian National University and the Acicis program embedded in her degree. That foundation now underpins her work tackling regional challenges through science and technology partnerships.
The placement gave her more than fluency. Living in Indonesia revealed problems textbooks cannot capture. She remembers beaches where plastic made swimming impossible, marine life trapped in waste, and rain turning drainage systems into flood hazards. “When it rains, the problem gets worse. Plastic accumulates in drainage systems. This floods houses, stops traffic and puts people’s safety at risk,” she says. The visceral impact of those scenes stayed with her. In 2022 she established IPPIN to help innovators find lasting solutions to plastic waste, drawing directly on what she witnessed years earlier.
Amelia at an Australia-Indonesia Centre boardroom dialogue in Melbourne in 2019.
Her time at an Indonesian university taught lessons that went far beyond the curriculum. “Learning doesn’t just happen in lecture halls,” she notes. “It happens over tea breaks, in traffic jams, and through countless unexpected moments of laughter.” She adapted by listening first, embracing the flexible rhythm Indonesians call rubber time, and discovering that batik could serve as a tool for building rapport. “I thought I joined Acicis to learn a language,” she says. “I didn’t realise I’d also be learning how to read between the lines, navigate cultural difference and embrace batik as a form of fashion diplomacy!”
Those early lessons reshaped her approach to collaboration. The experience showed her that progress relies on relationships built with respect, patience and shared purpose. That philosophy now guides her work across the region, where consensus and trust matter as much as technical expertise. Her role with CSIRO lets her combine sustainability, science, culture and language, and she regularly draws on the cross-cultural communication skills first honed during Acicis to navigate complex partnerships.
Indonesia remains her second home, and he language skills she developed still open doors. At the recent IPPIN Demo Day in Jakarta, she stood beside the Australian Ambassador and addressed the crowd in Indonesian, a moment that connected her current role to the student who once chose to study the language of her closest neighbours.
Amelia with BRIN’s Deputy for Research and Innovation Facilitation, Agus Haryono, during the Australia-Indonesia Science Management and Innovation Symposium in Jakarta, 2025.
For students weighing whether to apply, her advice is this. “If you want to be a savvy Asia-literate leader of tomorrow, Acicis isn’t just a nice to have but a must do,” she says. “You will gain invaluable insights and experiences that AI can never replace.”
Amelia’s career shows what happens when language study becomes lived experience. The student who wanted to understand her neighbours now leads regional partnerships addressing food security, energy transition and plastic pollution.
Quinton speaking at ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute’s Symposium on “The Future of Indonesian Politics: Analyzing the Outcomes and Implications of the 2019 Elections”.
