Melbourne Law School leaders build on deep networks in Indonesia
At the University of Padjadjaran Law School, in the hills outside Bandung, Indonesia. From right: Dean Idris, MLS alumnus Dr Giri Taufik, MLS alumnus Professor Susi Dwi Harijanti, MLS Professor Tim Lindsey and MLS Dean, Professor Matthew Harding
Dean of Melbourne Law School Professor Matthew Harding, and Professor Tim Lindsey visited Indonesia this week for a series of high-profile reconnection events that built on a decades-long connection with Indonesian alumni and partners in the country.
A graduation in Jakarta for Masters and PhD alumni who were unable to celebrate their graduation on campus because of COVID travel interruptions headlined the week-long trip. This was the first time a University of Melbourne graduation was hosted outside Australia.
The official party at the graduation included two of the most prominent and highly regarded jurists in Indonesia who are also Honorary Professors of the University of Melbourne:
Professor Jimly Asshiddiqie , the founding Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia, and Professor Todung Mulya Lubis, a prominent human-rights lawyer in Indonesia, former Ambassador and former director of Legal Aid Foundation, well-known in Australia for representing the Bali Nine.
Melbourne Law School was also proud to formalise its connection with highly-regarded established and emerging tertiary partners in Indonesia.
The Law School signed several Memoranda of Understanding to deepen research partnerships and open doors for future Law Masters students from Indonesia who make important contributions to law and scholarship in both countries.
Melbourne Law School’s deep engagement with Indonesian legal and scholarly communities is exemplified by its large body of Masters and PhD graduates, and its Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society (CILIS) - the only research centre dedicated to Indonesian law outside Indonesia and host to the popular Indonesia at Melbourne blog, Talking Indonesia podcast and The Australian Journal of Asian Law.
The formalised partnerships signed by Dean Matthew Harding in Indonesia included MoUs with leading law schools at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, Padjadjaran University in Bandung, and Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta to create smoother pathways for Indonesian students wanting to study for a Law Masters at MLS.
In addition, Dean Harding signed cooperation agreements with innovative new academic institutions, the International Islamic University of Indonesia and Jentera Law School, that will offer opportunities for exciting new research collaborations and deeper partnerships in the future.
Dean Harding also offered a series of public lectures exploring a common-law approach to political advocacy by civil society organisations.
Dean of Melbourne Law School, Professor Harding said: “Our Law School has a deep alumni network in Indonesia built across decades, including by Professor Tim Lindsey. It was a great pleasure to reconnect with enthusiastic Masters and PhD graduates across the country and make new friends.”
“Professor Lindsey and I were delighted by the welcome we received, and it was a pleasure to take part in University of Melbourne’s first ever offshore graduation, in Jakarta,” he said.
“I look forward to the closer engagement with Australia’s near neighbour and with friends of our Law School in Indonesia during the years ahead.”
