Motivation for application

Develop an international collaborative research on Southeast Asian migrant

As a specialist on Indonesian migration, I would like to develop an international collaborative research project with Prof. Schlehe from the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Freiburg University to conduct comparative analysis on Southeast Asian migrants and explain various ways of cross-border mobility and adaptation. This collaborative research is different to conventional migration studies because it examines the impact of transnational migration in a broader perspective and linking it to the 2030 sustainable development goals. It is expected that our collaboration could significantly advance our knowledge on how people conceptualize their identity and citizenship across the border of nation-state.

Results

Networking with researchers in Germany at Freiburg University Center for Southeast Asian Studies 

I had fruitful discussion during my talk at Freiburg Southeast Asia colloquium series. I received valuable feedback on my research on international migration in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
I also took the opportunity to share the work of CSEAS including our Visual Documentary project and delivered 10 booklets of documentary winners last year. Finally, I discussed the AIDA program and shared 10 AIDA pamphlets to the audience. I have also been able to have productive interaction with other academics such as Prof. Jurgen Ruland, the former director of Freiburg Southeast Asian Studies and Dr. Antje Missbach, who has just moved from Monash University to Freiburg.

Gaining new skills for my future research

During my stay in Freiburg, I learned about collaborative research between Freiburg and Indonesian universities and how Indonesian researchers are given access to resources in order to conduct new research about Germany. I also learned about the latest issues in Indonesian migration from German researchers in Berlin when I met Dr. Thomas Stodulka at Freie Universität Berlin and Dr. Victoria Sakti of Max Planck Institute. I gained more skills in collaborative research when I went to Leiden University for the ICAS conference. In the conference I convened a panel on SEA religion and met with French researchers to explore future collaborations.