Development Studies Professional Practicum (DSPP)

Jakarta short course

The DSPP is organised as a six-week study program, undertaken in Jakarta at the end of the Australian academic calendar year, during January and February. It is open to students of development studies and other related areas. The program is designed to provide participants, who may not necessarily have Indonesian-language skills or experience in Indonesia, with the opportunity to engage in the Indonesian development sector in Indonesia.

The DSPP provides an opportunity for students to gain valuable experience working in the field of international development while at the same time learning about development issues in a country that is central to global efforts to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. Unlike the semester long DSIP program, the Jakarta DSPP is designed as an intensive 6 week course to allow students to gain knowledge in the development studies area.

There will be a maximum of 30 participants accepted on to the DSPP program each year, and there will be two rounds of applications:

• The first round of applications should be received by the ACICIS secretariat by 1 July, and ACICIS will respond to each application within two weeks.
• A second round of applications will be received by the ACICIS secretariat by 1 October.

Those applicants needing to carefully plan in advance their university study program should apply in the first round of applications by 1 July. If there are not sufficient places available for all applicants, ACICIS will choose participants on a number of criteria including: academic record, industry experience, life experience, the student's flexibility in choice of placement, the skills that the applicant can bring to the placement, and the general quality of the student's application.

• See an ACICIS Powerpoint
• Careers after ACICIS

The Indonesian economy has grown strongly in recent decades and has largely recovered from the economic crisis of the late 1990s. Nonetheless a significant proportion of the country’s population still lives below the poverty line. The democratic credentials of the country have also grown remarkably in that past decade, but the pace of political reform continues to outstrip that of basic service provision in a country of 230 million people. Efforts to sustaining economic growth and accompanying processes of political reform have put renewed pressure on Indonesia’s natural resources and put the country at the centre of current climate debates. In short, the country faces a variety of important development challenges that demand the attention of various actors in the development sector.

The DSPP offers an opportunity for students to engage with these issues while also developing important practical skills related to advocacy, public relations, administration, research and policy-making in the development sector.

Why study in Indonesia?

Dr Emily Rowe was the DSPP Project Officer in 2013. She is an ACICIS alumnus who completed an immersion semester in 1998, studying archaeology. Since 2001 Dr Rowe has been living and working in Indonesia, including a large period of time in Yogyakarta which was the focus for her PhD in Health Anthropology on HIV/AIDS and its meaning and impact for urban Javanese women. During this time she also worked in the public health field, specializing in HIV-AIDS education, prevention and research for government agencies and international donor bodies (such as UNAIDS, AusAID, Global Fund among others). Emily moved to Bali in 2008 where until now she works as Program Manager for the leading HIV-AIDS female sex worker organization in Indonesia. Her fields of expertise include HIV-AIDS prevention programming, youth reproductive health, gender and sexuality, LGBTQ concerns, harm reduction, preventative health, Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and module development. Aside from her work in Bali, she is also a contracted consultant with Caritas Germany, assisting HIV-AIDS and gender based violence prevention work in Banda Aceh, Medan, Central Java and Flores. She also has an active interest in animal rights and protection as well as theatre and music movements in the archipelago.

DSPP Details

• Dates and costs
• Read about the DSPP 2010 and the DSPP 2011.
• Placements and the Selection process
• Assessment and Accreditation
• FAQs
• Application Forms
• Information on Visas
• Predeparture Readings and Study Details
• Jakarta information
• DSPP / DSIP Steering Committee

Some important points

• Applicants should be aware that they are applying for the program, not a specific placement. Participants must therefore accept that they may not get their preferred placement. In addition, all ACICIS placements with development organisations depend entirely on the good will and preparedness of such organisations to host participants. Such organisations retain the right to withdraw from the program or vary the number of participants they host at any stage. Therefore, while acting in good faith in preparing students for placements, ACICIS cannot guarantee any specific internship site and participants must accept this need for flexibility as a condition of participation in the Development Studies Professional Practicum.
• The visa that students use is not a working visa. Students are in breach of their visa provisions if they undertake any kind of paid work while on the DSPP. ACICIS takes this matter very seriously and will take disciplinary measures against any student found doing this.
• Travel outside of Jakarta for business or pleasure is only allowed with the advance permission of the Project Officer. There are strict provisions attached to this and these can be read on the last page of the application forms.
• Students are advised to take a laptop with them to Indonesia, as in most cases this will help them greatly in their work placements. In some work placements it is essential.
• Please be advised that Atma Jaya has a dress code which will be enforced by ACICIS. T-shirts and thongs are not appropriate.
• If you cannot attend orientation then you will unfortunately not be able to participate in the program.
• All participants must agree to abide by a Stakeholders' Protocol.