Indo-Pacific Fellows Alumni
2023 Fellows
Paul Holland
Mr Paul Holland is an experienced government relations adviser working in the resources sector. Based in Canberra, he worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for 16 years, providing geopolitical advice to government on Australia’s national interests in the Pacific, South Asia and Europe. Paul completed overseas postings in Fiji, Afghanistan and most recently France, working with European partners on key strategic and emerging policy issues for Australia.
A Ballardong Noongar from Perth’s foothills, Paul holds a Bachelor of Security Analysis with a minor in Indonesian language from the Australian National University and a Graduate Certificate in Technology Management from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). He is currently a Master of Business Administration candidate with the Australian Graduate School of Management at UNSW and has completed the Oxford Executive Leadership Program with Oxford University. Paul is also a member of the Business Council of Australia’s Indigenous Leadership Group.
Dr Ella Prihatini
LECTURER | BINA NUSANTARA UNIVERSITY (BINUS)
Dr Ella Prihatini is a recognised expert on gender and electoral politics in Indonesia. She serves as a visiting researcher at Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional) and an honorary research fellow at the University of Western Australia (UWA).
Ella was a teaching fellow at UWA from 2017 to 2019 and a lecturer in the Department of International Relations at Binus University (2020-2023) and President University (2013-2015). She has also developed over 10 years of experience in journalism, working in countries including Japan, Australia, Qatar, and the UK. One of her key achievements is exclusively interviewing President Hamad Karzai of Afghanistan during the commemoration of the Asia Africa Summit in Jakarta, 2005.
Her research interests focus on women’s political representation, digital diplomacy, young voters, comparative studies, and electoral politics in Indonesia. She has developed the Indonesian Ambassadors Dataset (WWW.DATADUBES.COM) which provides data including gender and background.
Dr Prihatini has been extensively published in both prominent journals (Contemporary Politics, Women’s Studies International Forum, Politics and Gender, Parliamentary Affairs) and the popular press, including The Jakarta Post, South China Morning Post, SBS Australia, and The Conversation. She was named one of Australia’s Top 40 Researchers in a special ‘Stars of Research’ report published by The Australian in September 2019.
Dr Prihatini received her PhD in political science and international relations from the University.
Dr Premesha Saha
FELLOW | OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Dr Premesha Saha specialises in Indian foreign policy and maritime security dynamics in Southeast Asia.
She is currently a Fellow with the Observer Research Foundation’s Strategic Studies Programme. Her research focuses on Southeast Asia, East Asia, Oceania and the emerging dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region. Dr Saha’s other research interests include: Indonesia’s maritime strategy, India and Southeast Asia, India’s Act East Policy, and Asia-Pacific multilateralism.
Previously she has been an Associate Fellow at the National Maritime Foundation; Indo-Pacific Security Studies Fellow sponsored by the US State Department at Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Honululu, Hawaii; Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta; Visiting Fellow at Lemabaga Ilmu Pengetahuan (LIPI) Jakarta; and Darmasiswa Scholar sponsored by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture at Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya, Jakarta.
Dr Saha completed her PhD at the Centre of Indo-Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her PhD thesis is titled, ‘Indonesia’s Maritime strategy in the Indian Ocean.’
She has published extensively in peer reviewed journals like Maritime Affairs, The Indonesia Quarterly, The Defence Security Brief, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, The Washington Quarterly and newspapers and magazines such as The Jakarta Post, The Hindu, The Foreign Policy, Australian Financial Review, The Economic Times, The Hindustan Times, and Firstpost. She has also published chapters in edited books published by Pentagon Press, Harper Collins.
Yuma Osaki
PHD CANDIDATE | CRAWFORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY ANU
Dr Yuma Osaki is an expert on Indo-Pacific geo-economics and trade.
He is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, Doshisha University in Kyoto.
He broadly works on the developments in Asian economic diplomacy and examines their implications in relation to the (re)shaping of regional and international economic order. His recent contributions to the field examine various economic statecraft, including Indo-Pacific geo-economics, and the evolving Australia-Japan relationships, ASEAN member states’ perspectives on free trade commitment, Japan’s pivotal role in the East Asian regional economic integration, etc. Most recently, he investigated the state of Japan’s Hydrogen policy and its impact on the conventional industry. He has widely presented these topics to academic and popular audiences.
Yuma received a PhD in Political Science from Doshisha University. He has also been enrolled at the Crawford School of Public Policy of the Australian National University, pursuing another PhD in political science and international relations. He holds an M.A. from Doshisha University in comparative political studies, an LL.M. from the University of Sheffield, and a B.A. from Waseda University in global political economy. Prior to commencing his graduate studies, Yuma worked for Marubeni Research Institute as an analyst. In 2019, he joined the Australia-Japan Youth Dialogue as an Organising Committee Member.
Dr Nguyen Linh Dan
LECTURER | HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Dr Nguyen Linh Dan is a green energy and sustainable development expert.
She is currently a lecturer at the Department of Industrial Economics, Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST).
Before joining HUST in late 2020, Dr Nguyen spent four years at the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC), a research institution for the APEC Energy Working Group based in Tokyo. She was part of the renewable energy team, involved in energy demand and supply projection, bioenergy and low-carbon policy research. She was also the project coordinator for the Low Carbon Model Town of the APEC region and a representative of APERC at the APEC Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy (EGNRET). In 2008, she served as a project appraisal specialist at the Viet Nam Environmental Protection Fund.
Dr Nguyen attained her bachelor’s degree from the National Economics University, majoring in environmental economics and management. She received a master’s degree and then a PhD in Sustainability Science from The University of Tokyo, Japan. Her research interests include cost-benefit analysis, energy planning, energy policy and sustainable development management.
Born in Ha Noi, Dan is a native speaker of Vietnamese, and also speaks English and Japanese.
Professor Jina Kim
DEAN OF LANGUAGE AND DIPLOMACY DIVISION | HANKUK UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN STUDIES
Professor Jina Kim is a recognised authority on security dynamics in the Korean Peninsula.
She is Dean of Language and Diplomacy Division at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Previously, she was Chief of the North Korean Military Division at Korea Institute for Defense Analyses and Adjunct Professor at Yonsei Graduate School of International Studies.
She is on multiple advisory boards for the Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Unification, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Peaceful Unification Advisory Council. She also served as a member of the advisory board for the Blue House National Security Office, US-ROK Combined Forces Command, and Policy Evaluation Committee for the Prime Minister’s Office.
Widely published, she authored North Korean Nuclear Weapons Crisis (Palgrave McMillan 2014), US Policy toward North Korea: Change for the Future (KIDA 2022), and Cooperative Threat Reduction and the Korean Peninsula (KIDA 2020) and has co-authored many books including Handbook of Europe-Korea Relations (Routledge 2021) and The Sheathed Sword (Bloomsbury 2022).
She has published more than 50 monographs and articles in academic journals such as The Washington Quarterly, Survival, International Spectator, Journal of International Relations, Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, and others.
Professor Kim holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and an MA in International Studies from Yonsei Graduate School of International Studies.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is the former president of the Republic of Indonesia and is a Distinguished Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre, based at The University of Western Australia.
Dr. Yudhoyono was the Republic of Indonesia’s sixth president and the country’s first directly elected president - entering office in 2004 and serving two consecutive five-year terms. He left office in October 2014.
Dr. Yudhoyono has a Master’s Degree in Management from Webster University in the United States, a Doctorate Degree in Agricultural Economics from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture. He also attended the US Army Command and General Staff College.
The recipient of many international awards, Dr. Yudhoyono was named by the United Nations as a “Global Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction” in 2011 for his efforts to make disaster risk reduction a national priority after the Boxing Day tsunami hit Indonesia in 2004. In 2010, Dr. Yudhoyono became the fifth visiting head of state to address both houses of Australian Parliament.
The Honourable Kim Beazley AC
The Honourable Kim Beazley AC was the 33rd Governor of Western Australia (2018-2022).
Prior to being installed as Governor, Mr Beazley dedicated almost three decades to a career in Federal Parliament, representing the WA seats of Brand and Swan.
In 2009, Mr Beazley was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for service to the Parliament of Australia through contributions to the development of government policies in relation to defence and international relations, and as an advocate for Indigenous people, and to the community.
Mr Beazley was born in Perth, Western Australia. He completed a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts at the University of Western Australia. In 1973, he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship for Western Australia and completed a Masters of Philosophy at Oxford University.
Mr Beazley was a Minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor Governments (1983-1996) holding, at various times, the portfolios of Defence, Finance, Transport and Communications, Employment Education and Training, Aviation, and Special Minister of State.
From 1995 to 1996, Mr Beazley was Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1996 to 2001, and 2005 to 2006. Mr Beazley served on parliamentary committees, including the Joint Intelligence Committee and the Joint Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee.
After his retirement from politics in 2007, Mr Beazley was appointed Winthrop Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at The University of Western Australia.
In July 2008 he was appointed Chancellor of the Australian National University, a position he held until December 2009.
Mr Beazley took up an appointment as Ambassador to the United States of America in February 2010. He served as Ambassador until January 2016.
Mr Beazley is currently Chair of the Perth USAsia Centre Board, Board Member of Luerssen Australia, Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Strategic Policy Intitute, Advisor to Lockheed Martin Australia, Chair of the Council for the Australian War Memorial and Advisor to TG & Associates.
Peter Varghese AO
Peter Varghese AO is Chancellor of The University of Queensland and a Distinguished Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. Prior to his appointment as Chancellor in 2016, Mr Varghese’s extensive career in public service and diplomacy spanned 38 years and included senior positions in foreign affairs, trade policy and intelligence.
Most recently, he served as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2012-2016). Previous senior appointments included High Commissioner to India (2009-2012), High Commissioner to Malaysia (2000-2002), Director-General of the Office of National Assessments (2004-2009), and Senior Advisor (International) to the Prime Minister of Australia (2003-2004). Mr Varghese was the author of a comprehensive India Economic Strategy to 2035 commissioned by the Australian Prime Minister and submitted in July 2018.
Mr Varghese was educated at The University of Queensland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a University Medal in history in 1978. He was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2010 and received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from The University of Queensland in 2013.
Mr Varghese took up Chair of the Asialink Council in February 2021 and sits on the boards of CARE Australia and North Queensland Airports. He is also on the international governing board of the Rajaratnum School of International Studies in Singapore. He was awarded the Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop Asialink Medal in 2019 in recognition of outstanding contributions to improving Australia-Asia relations.
2022 Fellows
Natasha Jha Bhaskar
Natasha is General Manager of Newland Global Group, a Sydney-based leading Australian corporate advisory firm specialising in the Australia-India trade and investment space. With her 12 years of previous work experience at the Indian Parliament in policy analysis, advocacy and communication, Natasha is driven by the ambition to build connections, insights, and capabilities, that enable Australian companies to utilise potential trade and investment opportunities in India, alongwith establishing long-term dependable partnerships.
Natasha is a frequent commentator and contributor for national and international think tanks, universities, publications, and media platforms on India – Australia bilateral economic issues. She has been a delegate to national and international Parliament conferences of SAARC, ASEAN, BRICS, an invited participant to National Legislators Conference, Raisina Dialogue, a speaker at the Colaba Conversation organised by the Observer Research Foundation and Maharashtra Government among many others.
She has made significant contributions to strategy papers related to trade and investment between both nations. She has previously been awarded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has also worked on a research project with the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), was Deliberative Democratic Exchange Fellow 2019 (Kettering Foundation, Ohio, USA), been a recipient of Commonwealth Broadcast Scholarship and Commonwealth Travel Bursary. Natasha has been among Australia’s 20 eminent speakers at UK’s ‘India Global Week 2020’ (IGW2020). She was awarded the Young Professional of the Year, 2019 – India Australia Business and Community Awards (IABCA) supported by Australian Government and is also IABCA 2021-22 Youth Ambassador. Most recently, she has been awarded the 2022 UN Women Australia MBA scholarship.
Derek Grossman
Derek Grossman is a senior defense analyst at RAND Corporation focused on a range of national security policy and Indo-Pacific security issues. He closely tracks intensifying U.S.-China competition throughout the region, to include in Northeast, Southeast, South, and Central Asia as well as Oceania. He has led or participated in numerous RAND studies assessing regional responses to competition, with a particular emphasis on Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pacific Island states, Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
Grossman is widely quoted regionally and globally. He has interviewed with Australian Broadcasting Corp, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, LA Times, New York Times, NPR, Sydney Morning Herald, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and others. Grossman has published dozens of commentaries and journal articles, including for Asia Policy, Foreign Policy, International Security, Nikkei Asia, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Studies in Intelligence, The Diplomat, The Hill, War on the Rocks, and World Politics Review.
Prior to RAND, Grossman served over a decade in the Intelligence Community, where he served as the daily intelligence briefer to the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and to the assistant secretary of defense for Asian & Pacific Security Affairs. He also served at the National Security Agency and worked at the CIA on the President’s Daily Brief staff.
Grossman is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California and an Indo-Pacific Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. He holds an M.A. from Georgetown University in U.S. national security policy and a B.A. from the University of Michigan in political science and Asian studies.
Rainier Haryanto
Rainier Haryanto is the Advisor to the Minister of State-owned Enterprises and the Head of Strategic Delivery Unit of Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, Republic of Indonesia. Parallel to the role, he is also mandated as the independent commissioner of PT Pelabuhan Indonesia, the Indonesian State-owned Enterprise Port Company with a responsibility to oversee the corporate operation particularly in the area of Good Corporate Governance and Risk Management.
Rainier has also held various roles in the private sector, state-owned enterprise, and public sector with a successful track record in leading, managing and delivering operations, company acquisition, corporate restructuring and mega projects. His work as the Program Director heading the day-to-day operation of Government of Indonesia’s inter-ministerial/agencies coordinating team (KPPIP) has been acknowledged in accelerating delivery of National Strategic Projects and Priority Projects, a portfolio consisted of approximately 500 infrastructure projects with a total investment value of USD 350 billion.
By training, Rainier is a civil engineer and a professional with over twenty years of senior management experience working in the infrastructure and related sector in Asia, Australia and Middle East. He is currently pursuing his higher research degree in the area of Sustainable Infrastructure.
Ho Thai Binh
Binh is a social entrepreneur working in public health in Vietnam. In 2018, he founded Survival Skills Vietnam with the mission to reduce preventable deaths and injuries in Vietnam via first aid education to international standards. At the same time, he founded SiGen which develops and commercialises new rainfall catch basin technologies in solving mosquito-borne diseases and odour pollution problems in urban environments.
Before his entrepreneurial career, Binh worked as an investment promotion specialist in the Department of Industry and Trade of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. He contributed to the founding of Japan Desk Ba Ria-Vung Tau office – a joint initiative between the local government and Japan International Cooperation Agency to involve Japanese experts and businesses in the improvement of industrial policies. He represented the provincial leaders in the Japan Desk to help international businesses assess investment opportunities and advise various government offices on international cooperation opportunities.
Although his career is no longer in the field of international cooperation, he is an active member in various international associations and fellowship programs to promote friendship and cooperation opportunities across countries.
Megumi Avigail Yoshitomi
Megumi Avigail Yoshitomi is an Analyst at Europe-based investment bank, covering cross-border merger and acquisition advisory. She is also the PR manager of the Japan Association for Cellular-Agriculture, hosted by the Center for Rule-making Strategies at Tama University, an industrial organisation comprised of companies including some of the major food companies in Japan, to create rules for cell-based food products, such as cultured meat, egg, and milk, to make them sellable in Japan. In 2020, Megumi was awarded the 30 Under 30 award by Forbes Japan.
Megumi holds a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Physics, School of Advanced Science and Engineering at the University of Waseda. From 2017-2018, she majored in low temperature physics – which are related to quantum physics, nuclear physics, and material physics – at the Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science at the University of Tokyo.
She is interested in
1. contributing the growth of emerging technology industry,
2. the important role of policy-making for growth, and
3. the soft-power of Japan in global food industry, where the country can contribute to the world.
Alisha Sulisto
Alisha Sulisto is a seasoned government affairs and public policy professional who has deep understanding of the political-economic complexities of Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia. Currently Deputy Managing Director at Bower Group Asia, she’s helped Fortune 500 companies connect the intricacies of interests between government and business, resulting in companies producing meaningful value for Indonesians. Her particular area of expertise is the financial services sector, ranging from banking, payments, fintech, insurance, microlending with great interests in other industries such as pharmaceutical, oil, gas, mining, agribusiness, higher-education, and digital.
Her opinions have been published numerous times in Indonesia’s most widely distributed English newspaper, The Jakarta Post. Alisha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Monash University, Melbourne and MBA from Binus Business School, Jakarta.
Dr Kyungjin Song
Dr Kyungjin Song is Executive Director of Innovative Economy. She was previously Director of the FN Global Issues Center and was President of the Institute for Global Economics in Seoul.
She served the Government of the Republic of Korea in various capacities. She served, 2009-2011, as special adviser to the Chairman of the Presidential Committee for the Seoul G20 Summit in the Office of the President. She oversaw the entire production of the official White Paper of the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010. She worked, 2008-2009, as special assistant to the Special Economic Adviser to the President in the Office of the President. From 2004 to 2008, she worked in the Ministry of Finance and Economy as foreign press spokesperson. She also served, 2011-2012, as special adviser to the Chairman & CEO of the Korea International Trade Association.
Dr Song writes a monthly column on global economic and foreign affairs issues for “Song Kyungjin’s Global Watch” in the Financial News and for the Korea Times in Korea. She has also made numerous contributions to international press, including the Financial Times, People’s Daily of China, and China’s Economic Daily.
Dr Song was awarded, June 2011, the Korean Government’s Order of Civil Service Merit for her outstanding achievements.
Dr Karen Pitakdumrongkit
Dr Kaewkamol “Karen” Pitakdumrongkit is Deputy Head and Assistant Professor at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Her research interests include international economic negotiation, Indo-Pacific governance and integration, regional-global economic governance dynamics, ASEAN Economic Community, and ASEAN’s external relations (ASEAN-Plus frameworks). She has published in various outlets such as Asia-Pacific Bulletin, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Australian Outlook, The Diplomat, East Asia Forum, Eurasia Review, Global Asia, The International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, The Pacific Review, Review of International Political Economy, and The Singapore Economic Review. Her media interviews include Bangkok Post, Bloomberg, Business Times, Channel News Asia, CNBC Asia-Pacific, New Straits Times, The Nation, The Strait Times, South China Morning Post, and Xinhua.
Beside publications and media engagement, Dr. Karen organized several capacity-building programmes such as the Annual RSIS-World Trade Organization (WTO) Parliamentarian Workshops in Singapore which are tailored to the specific needs of the government officials in Asian countries. She was also part of the team involved in composing the elements of the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025.
Ritika Passi –
Ritika Passi works on connectivity in the Indo-Pacific — its use as a foreign policy tool, consequences for economic development, and effect on global economic governance. She was most recently a Fellow with Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in Delhi, where she tracked regional connectivity; the changing global economic order and its geopolitical impact; and Indian foreign policy. Her work has focused on the progress of the Belt and Road Initiative and competing alternatives, as well as the evolving development finance landscape, with a particular focus on infrastructure finance. She co-hosted the first season of ORF’s Armchair Strategist podcast, and curated and edited The Raisina Files as well as the inaugural edition of The Raisina Edit as part of The Raisina Dialogue.
Ritika is currently a Visiting Fellow with ORF. She was part of the 2019 Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders program. She holds a Masters in International Security from Sciences Po.
Dr Juita Mohamed
Dr Juita Mohamad is a Secretariat Member and Lead Coordinator (Jeli Chapter) in the All Party Parliament Group Malaysia on SDGs. She was previously a Fellow in the Economics, Trade and Regional Integration (ETRI) Division of ISIS Malaysia. She has also worked at the Asia Desk of the OECD in Paris, at ISIS Malaysia, the Asian Development Bank Institute and Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.
Dr Mohammad holds a Ph.D. in International Studies from Waseda University, Japan. Her research focused on the impact of trade liberalisation on wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers in Malaysia. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Economics from Shiga University, Japan and her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from UKM. Her research interests include trade, regional integration, protectionism, wage inequality and the informal sector.
Dr Priya Chacko
Dr Priya Chacko is a Senior Lecturer in International Politics in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Adelaide and a Visiting Academic Fellow of the Australia-India Institute at the University of Melbourne.
Dr Chacko specialises in the politics, political economy and foreign policy of India, and the geopolitics and geoeconomics of the Indo-Pacific region with a particular focus on the economics-security nexus and contestations over regional order. She has published extensively on these issues in academic outlets and contributes commentary on these topics for the Australian and international media. She has been a part of the Australian delegations to the India-Australia 1.5 Track Defence Strategic Dialogue and an Indian Ocean Rim Association 1.5 Track Dialogue.
Dr Chacko is President of the South Asian Studies Association of Australia and is the South Asia Councillor for the Asian Studies Association of Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations)(Honours) from the University of Queensland and a PhD in Politics from the University of Adelaide.
Dr Chu Minh Thao
Chu Minh Thao is senior research fellow at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam where she has been working since 2010. She is in charge of research in fields of regional economic integration, global governance, trade issues relating to APEC, ASEAN, and trade politics, global and regional security and non-security alliances. She has written largely for the International Studies Review and participated in international symposiums, regional workshops and seminars. Previously, she got her B.A and M.A in Political Science in Delhi University under the India-Vietnam Cultural Exchange Program Scholarship. Later, she received her PhD in Political Science from Murdoch University, Australia under the Australia Awards Scholarship.
Dr Poppy S. Winanti
Dr Poppy S. Winanti is a Senior lecturer at the International Relations Department and Vice Dean for Research, Cooperation, Community Service and Alumni Affairs, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). Her research interests cover global and regional trade relations in global political economy; conflict and political economy of natural resources and extractive industries; Indonesia’s economic diplomacy, and South-South Cooperation. She holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Glasgow, two Masters degrees (an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) from Korea Development Institute (KDI) School of Public Policy), and a BA in International Relations from UGM.
Poppy is the author of a number of publications, including as one of the contributors for a book chapter published by Routledge and Springer, editors of books published by Gadjah Mada University Press, and some journal articles. Her PhD thesis focused on developing countries’ compliance and non-compliance with the TRIPs Agreement. Her recent publications include regulatory framework on IPR in Indonesia; Indonesia-Australia trade relations in the Indo-Pacific Era; the politics of ASEAN cooperation; extractive industry, policy innovations and civil society movement in Southeast Asia.
Poppy was the Director of the Center for World Trade Studies (CWTS) UGM (2015 – 2016) and also the Head of International Relations Department, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM (2016). She also served as one of the project coordinators, the Asia-Pacific Knowledge Hub for Better Governance on Extractive Industries, jointly managed by the Research Centre for Politics and Government (PolGov) UGM and the Revenue Watch Institute/Natural Resource Governance Institute (2013 – 2015).
Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopala
Dr. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan is Distinguished Fellow and Head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at Observer Research Foundation. She is also the Technical Advisor for the UN GGE on Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) (July 2018-Jly 2019). As the senior Asia defence writer for The Diplomat, she also writes a weekly column on Asian strategic issues. Dr. Rajagopalan joined ORF after a five-year stint at the National Security Council Secretariat (2003-2007), where she was an Assistant Director. Prior to joining the NSCS, she was Research Officer at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. She has authored four books, and contributed research articles an commentaries to a wide range of leading international journals and newspapers.
Ryosuke Hanada
Ryosuke Hanada is Indo-Pacific Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. He had been a Research Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs until March 2020, researching Japan’s foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific region and secretariat of the Council of Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Japan. Mr Hanada experienced fellowship programs, including Japan-US Partnership Program of the Research Institute of Peace and Security (RIPS), Young Strategist Forum of the German Marshall Fund (GMF) and Strategic Japan Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
He is currently pursuing his PhD at the Crawford School of Public Policy, the Australian National University (ANU). He acquired Bachelor in Law, Waseda University, Tokyo and Master of Arts in International Politics, the University of Warwick, the United Kingdom.
2021 Fellows
Alisha Sulisto
Alisha Sulisto is a seasoned government affairs and public policy professional who has deep understanding of the political-economic complexities of Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia. Currently Deputy Managing Director at Bower Group Asia, she’s helped Fortune 500 companies connect the intricacies of interests between government and business, resulting in companies producing meaningful value for Indonesians. Her particular area of expertise is the financial services sector, ranging from banking, payments, fintech, insurance, microlending with great interests in other industries such as pharmaceutical, oil, gas, mining, agribusiness, higher-education, and digital.
Her opinions have been published numerous times in Indonesia’s most widely distributed English newspaper, The Jakarta Post. Alisha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Monash University, Melbourne and MBA from Binus Business School, Jakarta.
Dr Kyungjin Song
Dr Kyungjin Song is Executive Director of Innovative Economy. She was previously Director of the FN Global Issues Center and was President of the Institute for Global Economics in Seoul.
She served the Government of the Republic of Korea in various capacities. She served, 2009-2011, as special adviser to the Chairman of the Presidential Committee for the Seoul G20 Summit in the Office of the President. She oversaw the entire production of the official White Paper of the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010. She worked, 2008-2009, as special assistant to the Special Economic Adviser to the President in the Office of the President. From 2004 to 2008, she worked in the Ministry of Finance and Economy as foreign press spokesperson. She also served, 2011-2012, as special adviser to the Chairman & CEO of the Korea International Trade Association.
Dr Song writes a monthly column on global economic and foreign affairs issues for “Song Kyungjin’s Global Watch” in the Financial News and for the Korea Times in Korea. She has also made numerous contributions to international press, including the Financial Times, People’s Daily of China, and China’s Economic Daily.
Dr Song was awarded, June 2011, the Korean Government’s Order of Civil Service Merit for her outstanding achievements.
Dr Karen Pitakdumrongkit
Dr Kaewkamol “Karen” Pitakdumrongkit is Deputy Head and Assistant Professor at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Her research interests include international economic negotiation, Indo-Pacific governance and integration, regional-global economic governance dynamics, ASEAN Economic Community, and ASEAN’s external relations (ASEAN-Plus frameworks). She has published in various outlets such as Asia-Pacific Bulletin, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Australian Outlook, The Diplomat, East Asia Forum, Eurasia Review, Global Asia, The International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, The Pacific Review, Review of International Political Economy, and The Singapore Economic Review. Her media interviews include Bangkok Post, Bloomberg, Business Times, Channel News Asia, CNBC Asia-Pacific, New Straits Times, The Nation, The Strait Times, South China Morning Post, and Xinhua.
Beside publications and media engagement, Dr. Karen organized several capacity-building programmes such as the Annual RSIS-World Trade Organization (WTO) Parliamentarian Workshops in Singapore which are tailored to the specific needs of the government officials in Asian countries. She was also part of the team involved in composing the elements of the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025.
Ritika Passi –
Ritika Passi works on connectivity in the Indo-Pacific — its use as a foreign policy tool, consequences for economic development, and effect on global economic governance. She was most recently a Fellow with Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in Delhi, where she tracked regional connectivity; the changing global economic order and its geopolitical impact; and Indian foreign policy. Her work has focused on the progress of the Belt and Road Initiative and competing alternatives, as well as the evolving development finance landscape, with a particular focus on infrastructure finance. She co-hosted the first season of ORF’s Armchair Strategist podcast, and curated and edited The Raisina Files as well as the inaugural edition of The Raisina Edit as part of The Raisina Dialogue.
Ritika is currently a Visiting Fellow with ORF. She was part of the 2019 Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders program. She holds a Masters in International Security from Sciences Po.
Dr Juita Mohamed
Dr Juita Mohamad is a Secretariat Member and Lead Coordinator (Jeli Chapter) in the All Party Parliament Group Malaysia on SDGs. She was previously a Fellow in the Economics, Trade and Regional Integration (ETRI) Division of ISIS Malaysia. She has also worked at the Asia Desk of the OECD in Paris, at ISIS Malaysia, the Asian Development Bank Institute and Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.
Dr Mohammad holds a Ph.D. in International Studies from Waseda University, Japan. Her research focused on the impact of trade liberalisation on wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers in Malaysia. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Economics from Shiga University, Japan and her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from UKM. Her research interests include trade, regional integration, protectionism, wage inequality and the informal sector.
2020 Fellows
Dr Priya Chacko
Dr Priya Chacko is a Senior Lecturer in International Politics in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Adelaide and a Visiting Academic Fellow of the Australia-India Institute at the University of Melbourne.
Dr Chacko specialises in the politics, political economy and foreign policy of India, and the geopolitics and geoeconomics of the Indo-Pacific region with a particular focus on the economics-security nexus and contestations over regional order. She has published extensively on these issues in academic outlets and contributes commentary on these topics for the Australian and international media. She has been a part of the Australian delegations to the India-Australia 1.5 Track Defence Strategic Dialogue and an Indian Ocean Rim Association 1.5 Track Dialogue.
Dr Chacko is President of the South Asian Studies Association of Australia and is the South Asia Councillor for the Asian Studies Association of Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations)(Honours) from the University of Queensland and a PhD in Politics from the University of Adelaide.
Dr Chu Minh Thao
Chu Minh Thao is senior research fellow at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam where she has been working since 2010. She is in charge of research in fields of regional economic integration, global governance, trade issues relating to APEC, ASEAN, and trade politics, global and regional security and non-security alliances. She has written largely for the International Studies Review and participated in international symposiums, regional workshops and seminars. Previously, she got her B.A and M.A in Political Science in Delhi University under the India-Vietnam Cultural Exchange Program Scholarship. Later, she received her PhD in Political Science from Murdoch University, Australia under the Australia Awards Scholarship.
Dr Poppy S. Winanti
Dr Poppy S. Winanti is a Senior lecturer at the International Relations Department and Vice Dean for Research, Cooperation, Community Service and Alumni Affairs, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). Her research interests cover global and regional trade relations in global political economy; conflict and political economy of natural resources and extractive industries; Indonesia’s economic diplomacy, and South-South Cooperation. She holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Glasgow, two Masters degrees (an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) from Korea Development Institute (KDI) School of Public Policy), and a BA in International Relations from UGM.
Poppy is the author of a number of publications, including as one of the contributors for a book chapter published by Routledge and Springer, editors of books published by Gadjah Mada University Press, and some journal articles. Her PhD thesis focused on developing countries’ compliance and non-compliance with the TRIPs Agreement. Her recent publications include regulatory framework on IPR in Indonesia; Indonesia-Australia trade relations in the Indo-Pacific Era; the politics of ASEAN cooperation; extractive industry, policy innovations and civil society movement in Southeast Asia.
Poppy was the Director of the Center for World Trade Studies (CWTS) UGM (2015 – 2016) and also the Head of International Relations Department, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM (2016). She also served as one of the project coordinators, the Asia-Pacific Knowledge Hub for Better Governance on Extractive Industries, jointly managed by the Research Centre for Politics and Government (PolGov) UGM and the Revenue Watch Institute/Natural Resource Governance Institute (2013 – 2015).
Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopala
Dr. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan is Distinguished Fellow and Head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at Observer Research Foundation. She is also the Technical Advisor for the UN GGE on Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) (July 2018-Jly 2019). As the senior Asia defence writer for The Diplomat, she also writes a weekly column on Asian strategic issues. Dr. Rajagopalan joined ORF after a five-year stint at the National Security Council Secretariat (2003-2007), where she was an Assistant Director. Prior to joining the NSCS, she was Research Officer at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. She has authored four books, and contributed research articles an commentaries to a wide range of leading international journals and newspapers.
Ryosuke Hanada
Ryosuke Hanada is Indo-Pacific Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. He had been a Research Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs until March 2020, researching Japan’s foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific region and secretariat of the Council of Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Japan. Mr Hanada experienced fellowship programs, including Japan-US Partnership Program of the Research Institute of Peace and Security (RIPS), Young Strategist Forum of the German Marshall Fund (GMF) and Strategic Japan Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
He is currently pursuing his PhD at the Crawford School of Public Policy, the Australian National University (ANU). He acquired Bachelor in Law, Waseda University, Tokyo and Master of Arts in International Politics, the University of Warwick, the United Kingdom.