Griffith In Asia

Host, Professor Renee Jeffery talks to Professor Dian Tjondronegoro, Deputy Head of Department, Department of Business Strategy and Innovation and Griffith Asia Institute about the Next AI Super Power and why it its important for Australia’s future. Dian’s Griffith Asia Institute Regional Outlook article looks at how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a key battleground of supremacy between the US and China. Given AI’s capability to rapidly analyse huge amounts of data for gaining insights and knowledge, there is increasing concerns over privacy and security of data collected from the use of technology, namely, smart phones and the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) (aka everything connected). However, there is very little understanding of what could be the long term consequences from the emergence of AI, particularly from the perspective of Australia’s global outlook and regional positioning within Asia Pacific. Anticipating and learning from the latest developments will enable Australians to better prepare fo

Interview supplied by ABC Capricornia

Want to experience Asia during your undergraduate degree, but don’t know what to expect? Griffith University students and alumni during a four-part webinar series, share their insights and tips on how to prepare and get the most out of an Asia experience! This in-conversation will take you on a journey down ‘Asia’ memory lane with Millie Vernick, James Fairley and Elise Stephenson; current Griffith students and alumni who have studied, interned and lived in Asia. They share their studying, working and cultural experiences, providing valuable tips, insights and some laughs for students aiming to travel to Asia. About the Speakers: Millie Vernick is a 4th year Bachelor of Laws / Bachelor of Government and International Relations student who was awarded the 2019 New Colombo Plan Scholarship for Hong Kong. Millie attained an internship with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Shanghai, a semester of political science at The University of Hong Kong, a semester of law at National Taiwan University, and undertook pa

Host, Professor Renee Jeffery chats with Professor Sara Davies, Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow, Professor at the Centre for Governance and Public Policy and Griffith Asia Institute about her research journey. Professor Sara Davies has conducted extensive fieldwork in Southeast Asia. Her recent book, Containing Contagion: The Politics of Disease Outbreaks in Southeast Asia (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019) includes interviews and observation material from her travels within the region. In addition to her research on health diplomacy, Sara has conducted fieldwork in the region on reporting sexual violence in armed conflict situations and women’s inclusion in peace processes. In this discussion with Professor Renee Jeffery, Sara talks about the challenges and delights of fieldwork, and the ethics associated with interviews on sensitive issues.

Want to travel to Asia during your undergraduate degree, but don’t know where to start? Griffith University students and alumni provide useful information on how to gain an Asia - Pacific experience while studying! Engaging with the Asia - Pacific is key to unlocking cross-cultural understanding, employability and widening your global experience. This conversation includes information on how to secure scholarships and grants to study, intern and learn a language in the Asia - Pacific e.g New Colombo Plan Scholarship, New Colombo Plan Mobility Program and Asia Future Fellows.   Zac Look and Grace Manahan share their experiences of working, studying and living in Asia. About the speakers: Zac Look is a 2020 New Colombo Plan Alumni Ambassador. He was awarded a New Colombo Plan Scholarship for 2019. He undertook two semesters of exchange study at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Indonesia, focusing on studies in political science and cultural arts. Additionally, Zac completed an internship in Bangkok with a Thai g

Global press freedom is at one of its lowest points with restrictions placed on the media on the rise in a number of countries. The recent politically motivated charge and ‘cyber libel’ conviction of Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler and Reynaldo Santos Jr. former Rappler reporter by a Philippines court is a case in point. Such conditions used to the be the scope of authoritarian regimes, however recent developments show that the practice is spreading to both new and established democracies. These worrying trends need to be taken seriously as threats to media freedom risk undermining not only faith in journalism and the media but also eroding the pillars of democracy and the trust that people place in it. Chaired by Stefan Armbruster, this Perspectives:Asia webinar looks at the changes in press freedoms in our region specifically Australia, the Pacific and South East Asia. Speakers: Marites Danguilan Vitug has been a journalist for more than three decades and is one of the Philippines’ most accomplished journalis

Host, Professor Renee Jeffery talks to Dr Dhara Shah, Department of Business Strategy and Innovation and Griffith Asia Institute about her journey to Australia and working as a Cross-Cultural Consultant, her move to academia and research in expatriation, women and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is seen increasingly as a productive, fulfilling alternative to more traditional forms of employment across the globe. Women are increasingly entering the entrepreneurship area, however they are still underrepresented. Dr Shah is working on two externally funded research projects to understand the motivators and challenges women entrepreneurs face in developed and emerging economies. Sisters Support Business Together project is looking at the impact of entrepreneurial learning along with mentoring and support on self-efficacy and overall well-being of disadvantaged and precarious women over 50 years in Australia. Dr Shah’s second project titled, Going Global- Indian women social entrepreneurs focuses on understand

Host, Professor Renee Jeffery chats to Elise Stephenson, PhD Candidate, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith Business School about her creative projects and research in the region. Rising global challenges and a changing academic landscape led Elise Stephenson to launch into entrepreneurship the same year she commenced her PhD, in 2017. Whilst running major international events across South East Asia with the Australian Government, Elise has pursued an ambitious research agenda to understand women’s under-representation in international affairs, across spheres of diplomacy, defence and security. This conversation explores Elise’s career, thesis, and work in ASEAN on public diplomacy programs as part of Australia now. The notion of ‘antifragility’ – of thriving from uncertainty – is at the forefront of Elise’s academic approach and is particularly relevant given the ambiguous times ahead, allowing her to combine creative projects with high impact research to make the most of working in t

Australia’s population has been characterised by constant change for many decades, yet anxiety over a rising Asia and racism are continued factors. This has been made even more evident recently with the escalation in racial abuse towards Australians of Asian heritage due to COVID-19. Professor David Walker, Deakin University and Professor Jing Han, Western Sydney University look at how our past still fuels anxiety and racism today. Professor David Walker draws on his latest book Stranded Nation: White Australia in an Asian Region which looks at Australia from 1920 – 1970 and addresses how Australia sought to convince both itself and its neighbours that it belonged within the Asian region. While Professor Jing Han shares her thoughts on modern Australia’s anxiety and how her translation work on the unexpected hit ‘If You Are the One’ has led to an unprecedented cultural impact and influence on Australian audiences in understanding the ordinary lives of Chinese people.

Host, Professor Renee Jeffery chats with Adjunct Associate Professor Tess Newton Cain, Griffith Asia Institute about her research, analysis and journey to studying the Pacific. During 2019 Tess led the research team that worked on ‘Pacific perspectives on the world: Listening to Australia’s island neighbours in order to build strong, respectful and sustainable relationships‘ that was published by The Whitlam Institute and Peacifica in February 2020. It draws on a rich set of data collected via focus groups and individual interviews with 150 people in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. More broadly, ‘Pacific Perspectives’ is a descriptor for Tess’s work as a researcher, as an adviser to governments and regional organisations, and as an analyst who contributes to public debates on Pacific policy in Australia and elsewhere.

Host, Professor Renee Jeffery chats with Griffith University's Associate Professor Luis Cabrera about his latest book The humble Cosmopolitan and what led him on the path to studying Asia. The book draws on extensive field research in India to address some longstanding critiques of universal human rights and global or ‘cosmopolitan’ citizenship. Critics of cosmopolitanism often assert that it is arrogant, giving too little attention to local ties and non-universalist moral views. Cabrera argues that an appropriate response involves not a retreat from broader principles but support for regional and global political institutions more clearly oriented to political humility, where individuals could give input and lodge challenges as formal citizen equals. He draws on the work of Indian constitutional architect and social campaigner B.R. Ambedkar, who championed forms of domestic political humility against the segregation and “arrogance” of caste. He also take insights from Dalit (formerly ‘untouchable’) activist

Host Professor Renee Jeffery as she talks to Griffith Law School's Dr Emma Palmer about her latest book Adapting International Criminal Justice in Southeast Asia: Beyond the International Criminal Court and what led her on the path to studying Asia. Countries in South East Asia exhibit a range of approaches when prosecuting international crimes. Emma’s book looks at how Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar engage with international criminal justice. She nuances categories of the 'global' and 'local' and demonstrates how norms can be adapted in multiple spatial and temporal directions beyond the International Criminal Court. Beginning her career as a private equity infrastructure investment analyst at Macquarie Bank her move to researching Asia was unexpected. This conversation also explores her research interests, including her work on two Australian Research Council projects: one focused on civil society engagement with international criminal tribunals, and the other the challenges for awardin

Professor Renee Jeffery, Griffith Asia Institute, chats with Professor Caitlin Byrne, Director, Griffith Asia Institute on her journey through research and diplomatic practice. Caitlin is a practitioner-researcher who has carved out a high impact, applied research agenda in Diplomacy Studies with a special focus on Australian public diplomacy in the Asia Pacific. But it wasn’t necessarily the trajectory that she had charted, nor was it the shortest path through. This conversation explores Caitlin’s journey from practice into research, where she combines her experience and expertise in diplomatic practice with an applied agenda that aims to deepen Australia’s engagement in the region through improved dialogue, better policy, and an appreciation of innovative practice.

Professor T.V. Paul, James McGill Professor of International Relations, McGill University discusses 'India as a Rising Power: Opportunities and Constraints in the 21st Century'

States of emergence, states of knowledge: A comparative sociology of international relations in China and India presented by Associate Professor Peter Marcus Kristensen, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen at the 20 February Griffith Asia Institute Research Seminar.

The Pacific Island nations are stepping up to offer assistance to Australia in the midst of the bushfire crisis. Vanuatu has offered almost a quarter of a million dollars to the Rural Fire Service, while an appeal fund has been set up in Papua New Guinea, with the government there also offering to send a thousand military personnel and fire fighters. Private enterprise in Vanuatu, PNG, and also Fiji, are getting involved in fundraising too, even though in Fiji's case they are already dealing with the aftermath of Cyclone Sarai that hit parts of the country just last week. And indeed at this time of the year, in the midst of cyclone season, it is often the disaster prone island countries with small economies that turn to Australia for help. However this time the roles have been reversed, and Pacific analyst, Tess Newton Cain, from the Griffith Asia Institute, says that's despite relations between Australia and the islands being rather frosty in recent times, and particularly over climate change.

Are microfinance borrowers born or made? An analysis of the personality characteristics of microfinance borrowers in Pakistan, Nicaragua, and Bhutan

Book launch "Modi and the Reinvention of Indian Foreign Policy" and research seminar on "Narendra Modi and the uses of foreign policy: Diplomacy, reputation, and the domestic audience", presented by Ian Hall, Professor of International Relations and Deputy Director (Research), Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University.

Challenges of electricity supply in India: Evolving market structure and political economy issues

Asia's role in the global nuclear order