Jakarta and Bandung, August 2022, 2023

RMIT Psychology Intensive was designed to give students valuable professional experience to suit their studies and future career aspirations in different fields of Psychology.

Through an institutional partnership with the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Padjadjaran (UNPAD), RMIT Psychology students worked in small multi-cultural teams with Psychology students from UNPAD in Jakarta and Bandung.

The program focussed on psychology practices and mental health in Indonesia, with learnings compared and assessed by academics at both universities. Students collaborate and brought different perspectives to investigate and deliver their assigned projects. The students then presented their findings in a symposium featuring guest speakers from the industry and academics from both Australia and Indonesia.

This program was supported by the Australian Government through New Colombo Plan funding. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover Indonesia.

Jakarta and Online (Hybrid), September 2022

This six-week program, comprising two weeks in Indonesia and four weeks online, was run in partnership with RMIT Activator and takes a previously Melbourne-based Innovation Challenge to Asia. The program was run in collaboration with BINUS University, Indonesia. During this 6-week Innovation Challenge, students from RMIT and BINUS University worked in small, multi-disciplinary teams, on live industry innovation challenges, working to solve real-word complex challenges faced by their host, Blibli.com.

In addition to the project, participants also attended workshops and visited multiple companies from different industries such as start-ups, fintech and investment companies. Participants also had a chance to visit Blibli.com’s warehouse to see the process behind one of Indonesia’s most successful e-commerce companies.

Working alongside Indonesian students throughout, the RMIT students got insights into Indonesian culture, which was also further supported through a range of fun and interactive cultural, social and team-building events.

This program was supported by the Australian Government through New Colombo Plan funding. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover Indonesia.

Yogyakarta and Jakarta, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2022-23, 2023, 2024 (run online in 2020-21 and 2021-22)

We developed a three-month intensive internship and cultural immersion program for RMIT’s School of Engineering. The internships were designed so that they satisfy the professional experience requirement of the students’ degrees. Students interned at a range of engineering firms and companies across multiple disciplines, including aerospace, electrical, civil, environmental, software, mechanical and sustainable systems engineering. Some of the projects students have undertaken on this program include: Designing the conversion of a Garuda Indonesia plane from passenger to freight; conducting environmental impact assessments for AECOM; designing and manufacturing production line robots with Akebono Astra; and conducting chemical and mechanical maintenance of plant at BlueScope Steel’s facilities in Cilegon, Banten.

We work with RMIT’s partner universities, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH), to further build upon RMIT’s relationship with those two universities. The students are accompanied by students from UGM in Yogyakarta and UPH in Jakarta. In addition to arranging an internship tailored to the student’s degree and career goals, we provide a range of professional development and interpersonal relationship building opportunities for students on the RMIT Engineering Internship program. These include professional networking sessions, workshops from industry experts, weekend trips and cultural sharing sessions.

This program received multiple rounds of Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover Indonesia.

Jakarta, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 (run online in 2020 and 2021)

We designed and implemented a six-week internship program in Jakarta for the Business School and the Faculty of Science at UTS. Students on this internship program come from a wide range of business and science majors, from finance to sports management to chemistry, and undertake an internship tailored to their major and career interests. Host organisations have included national and international consultancies; multinational corporations; emerging and established start-ups; marketing agencies; venture capital firms; institutional banks; government departments; and pharmaceutical companies.

Prior to starting their internships, students receive a 4-day ‘Introduction to Doing Business in Asia’, comprising of seminars from organisations including AusTrade Jakarta, Telkom-Telstra, the Indonesia-Australia Business Council, venture capital companies, prominent Indonesian start-ups, foreign legal consultancies, and the Jakarta municipal government’s smart city initiative, Jakarta Smart City. A focal point of the program is the Sustainability Hackathon, whereby students form teams and create a pitch deck for a financially-viable start-up that promotes environmental sustainability. Students on this program are partnered with a local Indonesian student from our partner, BINUS University, to help acquaint them with the culture and way of life in Indonesia’s capital. They also receive weekly Indonesian language classes after work hours.

This program has received multiple rounds of Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding and will continue in 2020. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover Indonesia.

Jakarta and Online (Hybrid), January 2023, 2024

This program is for second year students enrolled in the course ‘Fashion Enterprise Global Experience’ and integrates classes from academics before, during and after the program. Structured like a business trip, students travel to Indonesia for two weeks.

The program was delivered in collaboration with long standing partners, The Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and the Islamic Fashion Institute (IFI). Teams of ITB and IFI students completed a real-world project for a host organisation and presented their findings to all stakeholders at the program’s conclusion.

Over the course of the program, students visited various organisations including factories, malls, department stores, local brands, retail companies, business councils, and government offices to learn about their operations, as well as the fashion industry in Indonesia and the region more broadly.

This program was supported by the Australian Government through New Colombo Plan funding. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover Indonesia.

Jakarta, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022-3 (run online throughout pandemic)

The University of Queensland Internship program is open to students from a diverse range of fields of study, including business, engineering, law, political science, international studies and human movement. Its independent nature means that students are completely immersed in Indonesian working culture.

Students on this program are enrolled in a unit of study at BINUS University, which is transferred back to their degree at the University of Queensland to claim course credit for their internships. During their internship, students receive mentorship and guidance from an academic in their field of study at BINUS University. The academic supervisors provide students with feedback, guidance and professional and cultural recommendations in consultation with their host organisation supervisor.
Students on this program take part in a wide range of professional development sessions and workshops, networking events, weekend trips and cultural sharing sessions. Past highlights of students include giving a speech at the Australian Embassy in Indonesia and conducting research projects for Australian state government trade and investment bodies.

This program has received multi-year funding from the Australian Government through the New Colombo Plan. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover Indonesia.

Yogyakarta 2015; Yogyakarta and Jakarta, 2016, 2017 and 2018

This program simultaneously introduced Deakin dance students to a new discipline of dance and to the work environment of a dance practitioner in Indonesia. Students undertook an intensive three-week schedule of Javanese palace dance, dance drama and gamelan music. They also attended a weekend workshop in a rural school in the hills of Central Java, where they discovered contemporary Javanese choreography. The program was based in Yogyakarta and the dancers had the opportunity to visit a range of historical sites and cultural institutions throughout the program. Outside of hours spent rehearsing, students also participated in sessions on the Business of Being a Dancer, including an introduction to economic theory, budgeting and legal considerations when working in the arts. The schedule culminated in a public performance at the Yogyakarta Cultural Park and was supported by the Indonesian Institute of the Arts and the Yogyakarta Institute of the Arts.

The dance internships received Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding. We are grateful for the support received to encourage dance students to discover Indonesia.

Jakarta and Bandung, Jan and Dec 2016, Jan 2018, Jan 2024 (run online in 2021)

The Global Fashion Supply Chains course in the Master of Fashion (Entrepreneurship) at RMIT aims to formulate the capabilities for fashion entrepreneurs to successfully develop, implement and manage different, local or international production and supply network configurations. The focus of Global Fashion Supply Chains is on strategic decision making on how to locate a production and supply network for a diverse range of fashion products. This course investigates and identifies current business models and various key systems in the fashion supply chain network.

We worked closely with the lecturers in RMIT’s Master of Fashion (Entrepreneurship) to develop this ten-day intensive which will be repeated for a new cohort of students in December 2016. The program was built with the support of an apparel industry partner in Bandung, where students spent most of their time. There they studied the processes involved in producing a garment, from the technical specifications to costings to cross-cultural communication with manufacturers. The itinerary also took students to logistics companies, major and small retailers, government offices and many malls! Content was delivered throughout the program and students spent evenings working on assignments for the course.

Jakarta, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 (run online in 2020 and 2021)

This is a one-week study intensive attended by the entire cohort of students, as well as academic staff, from the Bachelor of Accounting degree at UTS. The program commences with an orientation at UTS’ partner university, Universitas Indonesia (UI), and students from UI then join for the entirety of the program.

The intensive is structured as a business trip. On the first day students are presented with a project from an Indonesian consultancy, for which they develop a market entry strategy for a mock Australia-based exportation client. They then attend a number of relevant organisational visits and workshops, including accounting and consulting bodies, multi-national organisations, governments and business councils, international marketing agencies and foreign legal advisors. At the conclusion of the trip the students are required to present their outcomes.

This program has received multi-year funding from the Australian Government through the New Colombo Plan. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover Indonesia.

Bandung and Jakarta, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023

Students on the RMIT Entrepreneurship Intensive learn about the rising Asian start-up market and develop skills and networks to equip them to build their own start-up. The program covers a range of topics relating to the Asia-Pacific, including business culture, demographics and market trends, the rise of technology and local laws and barriers to entry. It also covers some more general themes, such as decision making tools, pitching and attracting finance from venture capital firms, cybersecurity and attracting and retaining talented staff.

Students on this program visit both Jakarta and Bandung and are accompanied by students from Universitas Pelita Harapan. Organisational visits include a range of start-ups, venture capital firms, government departments, national and international consultancies, and other businesses. Previous iterations of this program have included visits to Bandung Creative City Forum, Jakarta Smart City, The Victorian Government Trade and Investment Office, Tokopedia, East Ventures, the Angel Investment Network of Indonesia, Halodoc and MullenLowe.

Bali 2015; Yogyakarta and Jakarta, 2015, 2016 and 2017

This program was structured to give students an in-depth cultural, as well as professional, understanding of Indonesia. The program started with one week of language and culture in Yogyakarta before the group moved to Jakarta for their three-week-long group internships. In Yogyakarta the students learnt some basic language skills, visited Borobudur and Prambanan temples, a number of NGOs and important cultural sites and discovered the city of Jogja while hanging out with their buddies from the Islamic University of Indonesia. In Jakarta the students were placed at Mullen-Lowe Indonesia (Indonesia’s biggest marketing firm) in the corporate affairs division, at Morelink Consulting (an Australian consulting firm helping foreign companies enter the Indonesian market), and at the Human Rights Working Group (an eminent Jakarta NGO). While the students worked during the day, they also had the chance to attend a joint European-Indonesian business networking function, a human rights-focused function at the Dutch embassy and some social functions run by various Jakarta social groups, including some Aussie rules players!

A similarly structured program was held in Bali in June 2015, where the students completed a three-week internship and cultural program in Ubud and Denpasar. The group of eight students completed internships at Legal Aid Bali, Hubud co-working space and IDEP Foundation, an NGO focused on developing Bali’s capacity to withstand environmental challenges posed by overpopulation, tourism and corruption.

These programs received multiple rounds of Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover Indonesia.

Deakin University, International Islamic University of Malaysia and BINUS University, January 2015

iDiDe, Intercultural Dialogue Through Design, is an international design workshop with a transcultural themed agenda achieved through immersive cultural in-country experience and cross-national collaboration. The design element of the program involves students from a number of international institutions working in studio groups with academics, architects and practice officers, while the cultural element allows them to explore their destination country before beginning the design work. iDiDe has held six previous programs in different Asian countries, as well as Australia.

iDiDe 2015 involved Deakin University, the International Islamic University of Malaysia and Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta and International Internships facilitated in the logistics, including contact between the academics from each university; development of the general itinerary in close communication with the academics; and in-country support. The program took the students to Bali, Yogyakarta and Jakarta over three weeks.

See iDiDe founder and Senior Lecturer at Deakin University, Susan Ang, talk about working with us.

Jakarta, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 (run online in 2020 and 2021)

Each of these programs consisted of about 20 students from a variety of fields including business, law, environmental science, sociology, politics and international studies. Students worked in groups of four, with each group comprising of three Deakin students and one student from BINUS University, the partner university selected in Jakarta. The groups worked with organisations including Air Asia, ANZ Bank, Legal Aid Indonesia, BDO Accounting, Sahabat Cipta (an Indonesian not-for-profit), the Victorian Government Business Office, BINUS University Careers Department and Amartha Microfinance.

During the placement, the students participated in a number of evening networking events, including visits to the Australian Ambassador’s residence and gatherings with business councils, social groups and youth networks. They also had the chance to join trips out of Jakarta, to see rural parts of Indonesia.

This program received multiple rounds of Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding and will continue. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover Indonesia.

Yogyakarta, July 2013 and July 2014

During July of 2013 and then again in July of 2014 we hosted a two-week study tour for the Global Experience department at the University of South Australia. We were accompanied by two academics from the university, who taught their own curriculum during the program. The Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) was selected as the partner university for the program and their students accompanied the University of South Australia students throughout.

Our time in Yogyakarta involved basic language lessons, visits to not-for-profits (e.g. The Human Rights Centre, Friends of the Earth Indonesia, Islamic Boarding School for Transgender people), volunteering with a local community affected by the 2010 Yogyakarta volcanic eruption, interfaith dialogue with UII students, academic presentations on Indonesian culture, religion and history, presentations from local companies and visits to temples and sites of natural beauty.

“Hi Jack, Back in the office today and just wanted to thank you again for a wonderful trip. This one was pretty challenging on lots of fronts, but you made everything go smoothly. We wouldn’t have been able to manage without you!”

Dr Tracey Bretag, UniSA Business School, University of South Australia, July 2014

Our partner university in Yogyakarta, Universitas Islam Indonesia, made a video about the 2014 program. 

Indonesia Uncovered Tour, November-December 2014, 2015

In 2014 our sister company, Gap Indonesia, ran its first program for students in their final or second-last year of secondary school. The program ran again in 2015. The three-week itinerary was designed to give participants an in-depth understanding of the different facets of Indonesia.

The group first travelled to Yogyakarta to study Indonesian language, visit the cultural and historical sights around the town, visit a number of NGOs and spend lots of time with students from our local partner university. We then spent four days in Jakarta getting familiar with the business environment of Indonesia, which included visiting a number of large companies and a hub for entrepreneurs and attending networking workshops and events. Our final week was spent four very bumpy hours drive from Medan, in North Sumatra, where the participants volunteered in a remote reforestation project. They also had the chance to trek through the forest there, learning about the threats it faces and seeing the orangutans who live there in the wild.

Virtual Mobility Program, June 2021

For three weeks during June 2021, the RMIT Supply Chain Intensive took place virtually for the first time. This has been a program typically run in-country but successfully pivoted to a fully online and authentic exploration of the supply chain between Australia and Indonesia. Teams were formed that consisted of students from RMIT, Bandung Institute of Technology, and the Islamic Fashion Institute who formed multicultural teams with various unique backgrounds and experiences. These teams were tasked with a feasibility study to expand their Australian host organisation, The Ark Clothing Co., and provide reports on how they would be able to enter the Indonesian market.

To support students and provide them with the most immersive and authentic experience possible, they took part in virtual versions of regular in-country activities such as language lessons, professional workshops, cooking classes, and movie screenings. Students also met with leading industry experts for presentations which gave them in-depth details of Australia’s trade relationship with Indonesia as well as examples of other Australian companies which have successfully entered the Indonesian market. To cap it all off the students met various alumni and got to learn from their experiences.

We are extremely thankful for the support this program received from RMIT University and the School of Fashion and Textiles that allowed us to take this program above and beyond. The Australia-Indonesia Institute’s support was vital in kick starting this program and shaped it into what was a very impressive intensive program for the participants.

To view the in-country version of this program please click here

Virtual Mobility Program, 2021 and 2022

Partnering with the Regional Universities Indonesian Language Initiative (RUILI), which consists of the University of Tasmania, the University of New England, the University of the Sunshine Coast, and Charles Darwin University, we shifted our in-country excursion to a virtual format that has allowed the students to meet experts from a broader and more diverse range of backgrounds. Alongside Indonesian counterparts that completed the program in concert with them, they completed a project for the Orangutan Information Centre. Completing research and outlining advice regarding illegal wildlife trading and strategies for an effective campaign with the restriction of movement in place at the time.

Completing cultural immersion activities as part of their virtual program, the participants authentically engaged with Indonesia in a number of ways meeting with various NGO’s and organisations that manage and promote conservation efforts across Indonesia. The students learnt Indonesian language and cooking classes, giving them a taste of the country known for its diversity and spice.

This program received Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding and after a successful implementation online in 2021 will likely continue to be offered as an option virtually.

To view the in-country version of this program please click here

Virtual Mobility Program, July 2021 and 2022

With students from Murdoch University and Udayana University, the Sustainable Community Development Practicum was rebooted this year in a different format to previous years. For this program students spent two weeks familiarising themselves with Indonesia through cultural workshops such as language lessons, cooking classes, professional workshops, and virtual village excursions. Lectures conducted by academics from Udayana University, Murdoch University, and Gadjah Mada University gave the students insight into the most current and up to date statistics and figures in the sustainable development landscape of Indonesia.

Channelling all of their newly acquired knowledge, students then dove into three days of intense training with the Coral Triangle Training Centre about the implementation of community development programs before they were tasked with completing virtual community development activities with local Balinese schools.

This program was made possible by Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding

Virtual Mobility Program, July 2021

The BUILT Environment program saw students from Victoria University complete an intensive two-week project for the Jakarta Property Institute. These students worked together with compatriots from Binus University to solve a real-world problem that required architectural, engineering, and sustainable construction expertise. The problem outlined by their host focused on a central theme of Risk and Safety Management. This program was further enhanced by authentic immersion through a range of social and cultural events which consisted of networking events, language lessons, cooking classes, and professional development workshops.

At the conclusion of their program, the participants presented to industry professionals on their findings, with their results being taken and to be acted further upon and implemented by the host organisation.

This program received Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding and will continue running in the future. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover and interact with Indonesia.

Virtual Mobility Program, July 2020

In July 2020 students from Health Sciences disciplines took part in a tailored virtual mobility program for UTS, with host organisations Hope International Indonesia and Cricket Indonesia.

Incorporating student buddies from Indonesian universities, participants took part in virtual versions of regular in-country activities such as language lessons and professional workshops, educational events and project presentations. They also had unique new online activities like interactive cooking classes with instructors in Jakarta and movie discussion nights with Indonesian student buddies to add local flavour to their online experience. The internships were project-based assignments for which students undertook specific research as small cross-cultural teams, presenting their findings and potential recommendations at the conclusion of their programs.

Scheduled catch-ups with the International Internships team combined with more formal host organisation sessions and frequent online meetings with team-mates successfully created an engaged remote working environment through a combination of live video conferencing, email, text messaging and voice calls.

We are grateful for all the support the online internship program received from UTS and the Faculty of Health.

Virtual Mobility Program, December 2020 – February 2021 and December 2021 – February 2022

RMIT Engineering students have completed internships with International Internships since 2016, and 2021 was no different. Moving to an online format, a number of endeavouring engineers completed individual internships as a cohort. This meant that each student that participated in the program was matched with a host organisation tailored specifically for them based on their interests, studies, and career aspirations. This program saw them intern 11-weeks over the summer with companies including the likes of MRT Jakarta and EnviroSolutions & Consulting.

Alongside their internship, students were immersed in a number of social, professional and cultural activities which saw them interacting with their Indonesian buddies and other interns assisting the students in building up their own network. The interns developed a connection to Indonesia through language workshops, cooking classes, movie nights, and various other sessions. The interns were supported every step of the way with regular catch-up sessions that ensured they were all receiving an appropriate amount of work and had no issues with completing their internship.

This program received Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding and will continue running in the future. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover and interact with Indonesia.

To view the in-country version of this program please click here

Virtual Mobility Program, 2021 and 2022

The Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) Online Multidisciplinary Internship was pivoted from the ATN Internship program that was undertaken in previous years. Internships focus on industry collaboration and real-world research, encouraging and developing skills in future leaders to help them thrive in their international business careers and communities. With as much flexibility given as possible to fit in with the schedules of the students, with the students given the option to complete anything from 2 to 5 days a week on their internship. 

With dates being offered from August through to November, there were a number of cultural, social, and professional events given to all of the interns. Each intern is unique in their experience but also able to meet and network with peers from across Australia and Indonesia. To maximise immersion and make the students feel as if they were in-country students were connected with an Indonesian buddy who completed parts of the program alongside them.

This program received Australian Government New Colombo Plan funding and will continue running in the future. We are grateful for the support received to encourage students to discover and interact with Indonesia.