Australian Alumni Award Winners Announced

A city mayor, an educator, a political leader, a researcher, an entrepreneur, a military officer and a public administrator are among those honoured in the Australian Alumni Awards 2012.

Announcing the award winners in Jakarta on 2 June 2012, Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty said, “I am delighted to congratulate this year’s winners – they are truly an inspiring group of people who are achieving great success in their chosen fields.”

“I would also like to acknowledge the very high-calibre award finalists and nominees. We meet Australian alumni in all walks of life in Indonesia and it is very gratifying to see that so many Indonesians return from their studies in Australia and make significant contributions to Indonesia’s progress.”

The Distinguished Alumni Award was this year given to Dr. Mari Elka Pangestu, Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy. Dr. Pangestu is an internationally respected economist and trade policy specialist, strongly committed to further reform of the Indonesian economy. Dr. Pangestu is an alumnus of the Australian National University.

This year’s Inspirational Alumni Award was given to Mayor of Banda Aceh, Mawardy Nurdin, who has overseen the rebirth of his city after the devastation brought by the 2004 tsunami. Mr. Nurdin is an alumnus of the University of New South Wales

The winners, decided by an independent panel of fellow alumni, are:

Excellence in Education:
Dr. Nurul Barizah, Vice Dean for Cooperation, Development and Information System, Faculty of Law - Universitas Airlangga (University of Technology Sydney)

Research and Innovation:
Dr. Marthen Mullik, Project Leader - Universitas Nusa Cendana (University of Queensland)

Sustainable Economic and Social Development:
Prof. Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, Head of Centre for Political Research – LIPI (Griffith University)

Excellence in Media, Culture and the Arts:
Mr. Paul Tanjung Tan, Principal - PT Arkipuri Intra Nasional (RMIT University)

Excellence in National Defence:
Mayjen TNI (Ret) Anshory Tadjudin, (Defence Strategic Studies Course)

Excellence in National Security:
Marsda TNI Johnny Fritz Pandapotan Sitompul, Commander of the National Air Defence Command (Defence Strategic Studies Course)

Outstanding Contribution to Public Administration:
Prof. Ali Ghufron Mukti, Vice Minister and Acting Minister, Indonesian Ministry of Health (University of Newcastle)

Entrepreneurship:
Mr. Handi Irawan Djuwadi, CEO - Frontier Consulting Group (University of New South Wales)

Business Leadership and Business Management:
Dr. Budi Dharma Notowidjojo, CEO - PT. Bima Bisalloy (University of Wollongong)

Outstanding Young Alumni Award:
Mr. Krishda Tan, Graduate Chemical Engineer - Rio Tinto (University of Newcastle)

The Australian Alumni Awards acknowledges the contributions to Indonesia’s progress made by tens of thousands of Indonesians who have studied at Australian schools, universities and technical colleges. More information, including a full list of finalists: www.ozmate.gov.au

Media Enquiries:
Ray Marcelo, Counsellor - Public Affairs, tel. (021) 2550 5290 mob 0811 944 4727