Australia-Indonesia Institute Immersion Program – 2024/25
Through funding provided by the Australia-Indonesia Institute, Asialink Education facilitated the Australia Indonesia Immersion Program (AIIP) for BRIDGE educators in September 2024 and April 2025.
Nineteen Australian teachers (12 females and 7 males) and 24 Indonesian teachers (18 females and 6 males) from the 2023 and 2024 BRIDGE School Partnerships program, participated in a professional learning program that incorporated a three-day cultural immersion program in Jakarta, a five-day school visit program with their partnership school, and a formal debrief session in Jakarta prior to their departure to Australia.
This program aimed to foster cross-cultural exchange, promote global teaching methods and strengthen long-term educational partnerships between Australian and Indonesian BRIDGE schools and was underpinned by Department Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) cross-cutting priorities of Gender Equality, Disability and Inclusion (GEDSI) and Climate Change.
Australian and Indonesian partners reconnected in Jakarta undertaking an immersion program that included exploring Indonesian culture through traditional cooking classes, visiting cultural landmarks and planting seedlings as part of a mangrove ecosystem restoration project.
During the time spent in partner schools, Australian teachers engaged in classroom observation, delivered classes on Australian culture to students, and explored local culture in various Indonesian cities and districts.
Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion
The Immersion Program supported DFAT’s Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion policy by featuring: DFAT specialist briefings at the Australian Embassy Jakarta, an Inclusion in Schools Teach Meet and an Inclusion workshop at Sunyi Café, also referred to as ‘Sunyi House of Coffee and Hope’, an enterprise that employs hearing impaired staff and promotes the use of coffee produced by a female led cooperative.
Participants from the 2023 cohort designed collaborative projects whilst together during school visits with a GEDSI or Climate Change focus, or both! These projects are partially funded by grants to support partnership sustainability, available via the BRIDGE Grants Scheme.
"The session in Sunyi cafe was helpful to reflect on how we include people with disabilities in ways that are empowering rather than condescending. The visit to the museum gave me a deeper understanding of Indonesian culture which will help me as a teacher of Indonesian and the session at the mangroves gave me a deeper understanding of how climate change is affecting Indonesia and what is being done about it. Also having the time with my partner teacher gave us a chance to deepen our friendship as we move forward as partners." - Australian BRIDGE participant, April 2025
Climate Change
Teachers visited the not-for-profit organisation, Bumi Journey, (part of Carbon Ethics), an Indonesia-based developer of tech-enabled natural climate solutions. Following presentations on blue carbon ecosystems, the half-day visits saw participants plant seedlings and explore a mangrove by boat, with hats, repellent and sunscreen on!
This hands-on excursion led into group discussions about climate change and environmental issues of concern for Australians and Indonesians. Conversations also touched on how climate change particularly impacts on women, children and socially disadvantaged groups.
For Jakarta locals, the impacts of climate change are pervasive with rising sea-levels, exacerbated by land subsidence, threatening the city's long-term viability.
This sizeable challenge was reinforced when participants also visited the Pantai Indah Kapuk area, an integrated township featuring a reclaimed beach in Jakarta’s north-west.
School Partner Visits
Indonesian school partner visits were a program highlight, enabling BRIDGE educators to collaborate in-person over a five-day period and delve into what might be possible for their partnership going forward. School visits took place in Jakarta as well as Central, East and West Java, East and West Nusa Tenggara provinces.
Australian educators were welcomed with open arms. They taught classes to Indonesian students in a range of year levels, practised their Bahasa Indonesia language skills, discussed and compared curriculum and pedagogy, explored local cultural sites of significance, tasted traditional cuisine and, in some cases, spent time with their counterparts’ families.
"I have been exposed to the culture in Jakarta, the living conditions, and other community issues that Indonesians face, the economic gap, plus so much more that I will be able to share with my students back in Australia." - Australian BRIDGE participant, April 2025
School Leadership
As part of the April 2025 program, the Principal and Business Manager from Franklin Primary School, Hobart, Tasmania, participated in a leadership stream featuring briefing sessions with DFAT and INOVASI representatives at the Australian Embassy, Jakarta, and a meeting and group lunch with school board members and the leadership team at the British School Jakarta.
School leadership participation in these activities, as well as a partner school visit and cultural immersion workshops, enabled a unique opportunity to reflect on bilateral government partnerships, local contexts in education, school leadership and structures, community engagement, resourcing and partnerships through a different lens.
“I am eternally grateful for the most recent experience I have had in Indonesia. To learn about educational reform, process and leadership in another country and share knowledge and understanding of high leverage practices has been one of my greatest highlights in education. Not only this, but to meet so many amazing people, children and leaders has filled by bucket.” - Australian BRIDGE participant, April 2025: James Milne, Principal - Franklin Primary School, Tasmania
Participants were also given the opportunity to visit various sites of cultural significance,both in Jakarta and during their school visits, including the National Museum, Istiqlal Mosque, Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Old Port area in the capital. They also participated in a hands-on Indonesian cooking class at Moderna Culinaria, where one BRIDGE group was fortunate to be joined by members of the ASEAN-Australian Centre and DFAT guests for a group lunch and sharing session.
“Meeting with teachers involved in the Indonesia-Australia BRIDGE Program, which connects schools in Australia and Indonesia, was a highlight. The teachers’ anecdotes and stories about the program’s transformative local impact demonstrated the success of the program and local enthusiasm for expansion of the program into Southeast Asia through the ASEAN-Australia BRIDGE program.” - ASEAN Centre post, April 2025
Steve Rogers, Aitken College; Roslyn De Silva, Trinity College Colac; and, Cate Robertson and Jacqui Cusack, Firbank Grammar School, Victoria, visiting the Museum Wayang Jakarta in April 2025.
Australian and Indonesian participants taking advantage of the car free Sunday morning in Jakarta in April 2025. It typically involves closing key streets from Monas to Sudirman Avenues to vehicular traffic, allowing pedestrians, cyclists and families to enjoy the area
Bella Mitchell from Evandele Primary School, Tasmania, along with partner school, teachers and principal from SD Smart Auladi Cirebon, West Java, enjoy and explore the natural beauty of Mount Ciremai.
The 2024–2025 Indonesia Immersion Program marked a significant milestone in re-establishing in-country professional learning for Australian educators, offering a rich, collaborative experience grounded in cultural exchange and shared educational goals.
Through renewed school partnerships, immersive activities, and reflective practice, the program not only supported the integration of global issues such as inclusivity and climate change into classrooms, but also strengthened intercultural understanding and alignment with DFAT priorities.
This initiative has laid a strong foundation for continued collaboration between Australian and Indonesian educators, reinforcing the enduring value of global partnerships in education.
The next similar immersion program opportunity for targeted BRIDGE educators will be in October 2025 as part of the ASEAN-Australia BRIDGE School Partnership Program.
The BRIDGE School Partnerships Program is supported by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and the Australia-Indonesia Institute and implemented by the Asialink Education, Asialink at the University of Melbourne.
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