Australian Program Enhances Capacity of Indonesia’s Islamic Higher Education Sector

The Australian Embassy in Jakarta is proud to launch today a collection of writings entitled Various Approaches to Islamic Study: An Anthology of Young Researchers under the PIES (Partnership in Islamic Education Scholarship) Program 2008-2009. This publication reflects the success of the PIES program and encapsulates the participants’ findings while researching and writing their doctoral level thesis in Australia.

Initiated and managed by the Australia-Indonesia Institute, the PIES program, which began in 2006, is funded by AusAID, implemented by the Australian National University (ANU) and run in partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Under the program, the ANU hosts five Indonesian PhD candidates from Islamic higher education institutions for two semesters, enabling them to receive specialist supervision from Australian academics. The aim of the program is to enhance human resources in the Islamic higher education sector, particularly in regional areas. The PIES program follows on from an earlier version of the scholarship program entitled Partnership in Education and Training in Regional Islamic Institutions (PETRII) which ran from 2004-2006.

The five Indonesian participants of the 2008-2009 PIES program, and the contributors to the publication, are Dr Naqiyah Mukhtar from STAIN Purwokerto, Marzuki Wahid from UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Dr Septi Gumiandari from IAIN Syekh Nurjati Cirebon, Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir from IAIN Syekh Nurjati Cirebon and M.A. Adnan from STAIN Gorontalo.

“An unusual and path-breaking program such as PIES can only succeed with the goodwill and support of a range of people. It is a measure of the partnership and linkages which exist between Indonesian and Australian institutions that PIES has been able to achieve its aims,” said ANU’s Professor Emeritus Virginia Hooker, one of the pioneers of the program.

In addition to the PIES publication, the Australian Embassy will also present an Indonesian language version of The Australian Journey: Muslim Communities, a publication produced by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship retracing the important contribution of Australia’s Muslim community in all sectors of Australian life. A small exhibition of photographs depicting Sydney’s Muslim communities by Australian photographer Campbell Bridge will also be on display.

The PIES program and a recent leadership and education management training program of Indonesian Islamic education leaders in Queensland both form part of a A$35 million, six-year Australian Government initiative to help improve the quality of education in Indonesia’s Islamic schools.

Media Enquiries:
Sanchi Davis, Cultural Attaché tel. (021) 2550 5260 mob. 0811 936 302