ACICIS is very thrilled to announce Dr Maharani Hapsari as the Academic Program Officer (APO) for the Summer 2022 iteration of the Virtual Development Studies Professional Practicum (DSPP) and the Virtual Sustainable Tourism Professional Practicum (STPP).

Dr Maharani Hapsari (Rani) is a lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Rani completed her master degree in 2010 and doctoral degree in 2012 in the field of international development at Nagoya University, Japan. Upon PhD completion, she has been teaching political economy of development, political economy of global environmental change, gender and politics, and human security. For the last eight years, she has conducted research programs on various development issues from the viewpoint of knowledge production, citizenship and social movements. She is currently working on the politics of the commons in the environment-development nexus. See her full profile here.

An Academic Program Officer is assigned to each of ACICIS’ professional practicum programs to oversee all aspects of a program, including the supervision of its academic content and assessment of student performance. The APO and ACICIS Resident Director oversee application vetting, participant selection, and work placement allocation. During the virtual program, the APO meets regularly with a student’s Host Organisation placement supervisor – and with the student themselves – to provide mentorship, to ensure that a student is getting the most out of their placement, and to assess a student’s performance. The APO provides students with advice on academic and industry-specific matters, and also plays a key role in curating and delivering the series of industry seminars that students undertake throughout the program.

ACICIS is delighted to welcome Rani as the supervising academic for the summer 2022 iteration of the Virtual DSPP/STPP. Participating students will be very well served by her experience and expertise in international development, sustainability, governance and advocacy in Indonesia.